YES!! Move The Government Out of Washington, DC!!!

At American Greatness, Roger Kimball in a piece published May 20 writes to the next Republican president, whomever he/she may be:

Washington really is a swamp and it will consume you. And here are a few particular bits of advice: 

1) Have the inauguration in Mar-a-Lago (if it is Trump)

2) Govern from Florida as much as you can. 

3) If you decide to indulge in the theater of the State of the Union Address as it has evolved, deliver it from, say, Kansas. 

4) Disband the FBI. We should never have allowed a national police force to come into being. 

Move the bits of the government you can’t actually destroy to other parts of the country.

Do these things instantly—the day you take office. The deep state will howl. The bureaucrats will oppose you. The lawyers will sue you. Do it anyway. Act first, deal with the consequences later...

The focus should be on eclipsing Washington, D.C. as the seat of government. It has long been obvious to candid observers that there is something deeply dysfunctional about that...city. It is a partisan sinkhole.

That Washington is crippling the rest of the nation has been obvious for more than a dozen years. 

From this blog:

WEDNESDAY, SEPTEMBER 15, 2010

A Non-Partisan Plan to Improve America – Part II

The problem is that once your representative moves to Washington from Oregon, Alabama, or wherever, they “go native” once they are inside the Beltway. That is, they start worrying much more about what the Washington Post says rather than how well they are representing their districts and states.

So, here is my suggestion that would minimize this problem once and for all:

Disperse the government! Two hundred years ago, in the horse-and-buggy era, it made sense to have everything in the District of Columbia. Now, having everything in D.C. is a hindrance rather than a help. The people manning government departments and Congress increasingly tend to be out of touch.

So, move them outside the Beltway.

Some suggestions: Move the Department of Agriculture to Wichita or Kansas City.

Move the Department of Transportation to Chicago.

The Patent and Trademark Office should go to Silicon Valley.

The Department of the Interior should go to Denver.

Health and Human Services should be in Atlanta.

The Department of Homeland Security (which includes the Border Patrol) should move to Tucson.

Get the idea?

Move everything except Congress, Supreme Court, the White House, Defense, Justice, State, and CIA outside the Beltway.  This has several beneficial effects: Their employees would be more in touch with the average person and would care less about the Washington Post. Government employees (except in an emergency) should fly commercial. Make them deal with the TSA for their monthly cabinet meeting in Washington!

Taking the Transportation Department as an example, Chicago is the transportation hub of the U.S. There are many people with a high level of expertise that already live there. It would be possible to have a smaller department with a higher level of expertise in Chicago than it is in Washington.

There is an added advantage: In an age of terrorism, it would make it harder to deal a major blow to the government…too many geographic areas to hit at once.

Finally, it would dilute the effect of lobbyists:  After all, Trent Lott can only be in one city at a time. 

It is time for outside-the-box thinking to solve America’s problems. Feel free to pass these on to whomever you wish. I don’t seek credit – I just want to leave an America for my children and grandchildren that is as great and full of opportunity as the one I’ve enjoyed. 

And, yes, absolutely abolish the FBI! They've had plenty of chances. They threaten our freedoms. The CIA needs to be completely reformed. 

Of course, the issue is whether the Republicans can grow the courage needed to do all of this. I am highly doubtful.