The vast right-wing conspiracy is back in vogue among the young’uns, DCist just learned from today’s New York Times. Jason DeParle describes the many rewards — in the literal sense — of the intern program at the Heritage Foundation.
Here’s how one current member of the summer class of 2005 got to this elite round of 64:
Like all Heritage applicants, she [Daren Stanaway, of Harvard] also answered a 12-item questionnaire designed to ferret out latent liberalism with questions about guns, abortion, welfare and missile defense. (If you agree with the statement that “tax increases are the most appropriate way to balance the budget,” this is probably not the internship for you.)
If you agree with the statement that “anyone who’s spent any time in Washington knows that interns for conservative organizations get more perks,” this is probably not the article for you. But it’s still a fun read:
The 64 interns are each paid a 10-week stipend of $2,500, and about half are housed in a subsidized dorm at the group’s headquarters, complete with a fitness room… Another leap forward occurred in 1999, when a supporter, Tom Johnson, offered to donate an adjacent building. Mr. Feulner embarked on a $12 million fund-raising drive to renovate it and carved out space for 30 dorm rooms. For $10,000, donors could have their names in bronze on a dorm room door.
