Matt Bandyk

Are you concerned about the undue influence of nefarious special interest groups on this country’s political process? 

Would you rather walk cross-country until your feet are bleeding than ride Amtrak? 

When you saw such films as “The Right Stuff” or “Apollo 13,” was your first thought “wow, what a waste of taxpayer dollars!”? 

Are words like “boondoggle” and “largesse” part of your daily vocabulary?

If you’ve answered yes to any of these questions, an internship at Citizens Against Government Waste may be right for you.

Most internships in Washington DC are like whipped cream: they’re 98% air.  Many an undergraduate or recent grad has emerged from the halls of academia in May as a bright-eyed idealistic activist ready to put his or her highly toned intellect to the task of changing the world. 

Then there are the three months of collating, filing, data entry, phone answering, and water cooler-filling, interrupted only by comparatively bright moments of glad-handing and sycophantry.   The bitter ex-intern returns to the academy feeling more than a little dirty.

I’m pleased to report that Citizens Against Government Waste is not your typical DC internship.

Yes, as a CAGW intern, you will encounter DC standards such as red tape, bureaucratic malaise, yes men, and mind-numbing stupidity.  But unlike other internships where you are participating in these doldrums, at CAGW, you get to expose and fight the beast of “politics as usual.”

I spent my internship doing the substantive work of researching and writing on real policy issues that my friends interning on the Hill couldn’t do because they were too busy inserting constituents’ names into form letters.  I wrote press releases, op-eds, newsletter articles, and in-depth reports on a diverse array of topics, such as transportation, the budget, energy, mental health, and more.

Most importantly, because truth and persuasion are the goals at CAGW, I was encouraged to conduct my work without concern for whose toes we were stepping on.

The people who work at CAGW are the real deal.  They harbor no optimistic illusions about the nature of American politics, as they confront its ugliness every day.  But while they’re far from out-of-touch idealists, they are not jaded cynics either.  All the work they do is motivated by the belief that if citizens learn the full extent of their government’s excesses, reason can prevail over politics.  Interning with them is a truly exhilarating and educational experience, and I highly recommend it.

PS: I forgot to mention the other best thing about an internship at CAGW.  When people you meet ask you where you’re interning, you could say “I’m interning with Barbara Boxer,” and alienate half of the people.  Or you could say “I’m interning with Rick Santorum,” and alienate the other half.  But you could also say “I’m interning at Citizens Against Government Waste.”  No one likes waste.  You’re instantly popular.

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