Carl Ford, the self-described “loyal, conservative Republican to the core” got his start on the Hill working for, yes, a Democrat. From yesterday’s testimony:
“I've been fortunate to work for some very fine, fine leaders. Vice-President Cheney, Secretary Powell, John Glenn — all of these people were examples to me of how you go about running an organization; how to be a leader.”
More from Ford, on his history with Glenn:
“I worked as an analyst for quite a number of years at DIA and CIA. And then was invited to take part in what was called a Congressional Fellowship Program, and I came down as a CIA officer to work on the Hill for a year. I was supposed to spend six months on the Senate side and six months on the House side. And I got hooked up with Senator John Glenn of Ohio, who was the chairman of the Subcommittee on East Asia Affairs, at the time. And those of you who know Senator Glenn, he has a strong mind of his own, and he decided that I would not go on to the House. And so I spent a year working on his personal staff. Senator Glenn had gone out and saw the director to make sure that happened. And then he convinced me to work full- time on the Senate Foreign Relations Committee. So I spent five years on the staff of the Foreign Relations Committee. And in fact, when I started, as many of you will remember, it was — there was not a Democratic and a Republican staff, there was one staff. And I think that that — those days are gone, but that was a — that's a pleasant memory I have.”
http://www.nationalreview.com/beltway/beltwaybuzz.asp
Good Grief