Now That We Have Air Conditioning, It’s Time to Relocate the Capitol

Pajamas Media ^ | August 20, 2010 | Dan Miller

[DanMiller]

From the August 10 edition of Jonah Goldberg’s The Goldberg File:

Washington, D.C., … we all know, is a pestilential swamp where the horseflies and water snakes have been replaced with congressmen and senators. And that’s not a fair trade, because horseflies and water snakes leave your wallet alone when they bite.

That’s where the Seat of Government (SOG — one of the few acronyms which makes sense as a stand-alone word) has long been located. There are lots of possible reasons why the SOG came to be in Washington, D.C., including the proximity to George Washington’s Mount Vernon. However, in recent heretofore secret discussions with Messrs Washington and Jefferson, I have discovered the real answer.

The SOG was put in Washington, D.C., to keep the federal government as small and non-intrusive as possible, and to have only those truly dedicated to public service spend time there, as it was a horrible personal sacrifice.

[Vaquero]

leave the capital....move the senators and congressman.

it should read, now that we have technology, move Congress

every congressperson/senator stays in their district and communicates and holds sessions via satellite....the POSs wont be able to have that beltway mentality because they will be at home and under the scrutiny of their constituents.

just my $0.02

[gunnyg]

The Capitol?
The white House?

Just wtf do we have these presidential palaces in dc and all the other “republican” states for—is that representative of our form of gubmint? or an elite form of gubmint/slavery—what kinda caretakers would imagery like that attract????? In Washington’s (George) time the people yearned for a king!

Maybe they finally got their king—but WE’RE stuck with the b@$tards!!!!!!

[Red Badger]

Today it would be a protected wetland................

[Red Badger]

and the lobbyists would have a hell of a time getting to all of them...................

[Jim Noble]

.the POSs wont be able to have that beltway mentality because they will be at home and under the scrutiny of their constituents.

Have you considered the possibility that the constituents are the problem?

[gunnyg]

[gunnyg]

aino

http://gunnyg.wordpress.com/2010/08/09/gunny-g-myself-i-would-refer-to-these-multitude-of-fools-as-simply-aino-americans-in-name-only/

[Little Ray]

Wrong.
We need to remove air conditioning from the Capitol and from all the office buildings where Congresscritters and their staffs are housed.

That way, those bottom-feeders won’t be able to get out of DC fast enough...

[TomGuy]

Right. Spend literally a $Trillion to relocate the Capitol.

And in short order, it will be as infested as the current location.

Politics breeds corruption. It makes no difference where it is located. That is the nature of the beast. Look at how much corruction is in the state seats of power.

[TomGuy]

Maybe they finally got their king—but WE’RE stuck with the b@$tards!!!!!!

We have had a self-annointed elite ruling class for a long time. THEY think they are the elite, and WE keep electing them and sending them to their playground of power. Case in point: Arizona Senate race.

Unless and until the American people get more involved in politics, run for offices and have term limits, etc., the situation will continue.

Why else would a politician (John McCain, for example) spend $20 Million dollars to get elected to a job (senator) that has a salary of $174,000? It isn't for the salary.

[LZ_Bayonet]

Air Conditioning AND the INTERNET

[GreyFriar]

How about moving it to ANWR on the Alaskan north slope, then all of congress can sit up in that baren frozen waste land and freeze because they won’t let the oil and natural gas be pulled from beneath it. And, hopefully, it would keep them to meeting only a couple of weeks a year.

Of course, all the hot air from their speechifying might turn the tundra into a tropical jungle.

[Conservativegreatgrandma]

Jim, you got it!! Government reflects society. We have exactly the government we want. It’s ridiculous to continue to bash congress when the people have put them there. If the people have a change of heart, then congress will change. We have met the enemy and it is—us!!!

[Zakeet]

It’s Time to Relocate the Capitol

I agree.

How about to a site 250 miles due east.

[Jack Hydrazine]

Move it to Omaha.

[DustyMoment]

every congressperson/senator stays in their district and communicates and holds sessions via satellite....the POSs wont be able to have that beltway mentality because they will be at home and under the scrutiny of their constituents.

I've been preaching the same thing for the past few years, now, but not satellite. There are better, more reliable communications technologies, but I won't quibble over nits. We both agree on the same principle and, I suspect, that we aren't alone.

The less time that Congresscritters are in Washingtion, the better off America is. And, if they have to stay in their districts so that they are accessible to their constituents, I think they will be much less arrogant and much more responsible to the people they are supposed to represent.

[DustyMoment]

Have you considered the possibility that the constituents are the problem?

You forgot the "/sarc" tag.

[KarlInOhio]

Since Yucca Mountain can't be used for nuclear disposal, how about Congressional disposal. Move them out there and bury them for 10,000 years.

[GonzoGOP]

every congressperson/senator stays in their district and communicates and holds sessions via satellite....the POSs wont be able to have that beltway mentality because they will be at home and under the scrutiny of their constituents

I have been saying for some time that the President and the Senate should be in Washington. They were always envisioned as professional bodies and their duties as outlined by the constitution require year round service. But the house is supposed to be concerned with just passing the budget. They should meet for four weeks after the State of the Union to pass the budget. And the passage of the budget in that time would be a legal requirement with penalties, including fines and jail time for party leaders, if it was not passed at the end of the session. Then another two week session in a random city (think big convention) in August. The president could call an emergency joint session for things like declaration of war. But you wouldn't have the constant CSPAN bickering that we have now. This keeps them outside the beltway for most of the year. Being a congress person becomes a part time job. Salary and staffing levels could then be adjusted accordingly. Finally it has the effect that anything that can't get done in six weeks doesn't get done. That would greatly limit the amount of trouble Congress could get into.