For most of our country’s life, the District of Columbia was governed directly by the federal government. It is our nation’s capital, and it must be brought back under complete federal control
The Congress shall have the power to…
…exercise exclusive Legislation in all Cases whatsoever, over such District (not exceeding ten Miles square) as may, by Cession of particular States, and the Acceptance of Congress, become the Seat of the Government of the United States and to exercise like Authority over all Places purchased by the Consent of the Legislature of the State in which the Same shall be, for the Erection of Forts, Magazines, Arsenals, dock-Yards, and other needful buildings.
Article 1, Section 9, US Constitution
I’ve visited Washington DC several times over my life, but the first visit made the biggest impression. In January 1989 my battalion commander sent me temporary duty to multiple intelligence agencies for training. They did their best to teach me how to spell “MI.” While I was there I did some tourism and noticed how our capital was laid out. The National Mall (with the Capital, While House, Lincoln and Jefferson Memorials, etc.) in the center was a clean and beautiful area. Speaking with some of the locals it was also safe after dark. Then I drove through the ring around the Mall, and it made an impression. It looked like a war zone.
One of the agencies I spent time in was the Intelligence Threat and Analysis Center (ITAC), in the outer ring. It had limited onsite parking, so most people took a van from the building entrance to the offsite parking. My “adult supervision” at the office mentioned they offered an escort to women who parked on site. The building was surrounded by 12′ fences with concertina wire on top. I asked him if this was a bit much in a secure area like that.
“Mike, someone got over that barrier and assaulted one of our female employees.”
Welcome to the US capital. I recall Alan King’s describing Jersey City casino’s, “Inside it’s the Taj Mahal, outside it’s Beirut.”
I didn’t know at the time HIZONORDAMAER of Washington DC was Marion Berry. I would find out about him a year later, when he was videotaped by the FBI smoking crack cocaine with a former girlfriend. His famous scream, “The b^&*ch set me up!”
Ladies and gentlemen, the mayor of our nation’s capital city.
Berry was charged with three felony counts of perjury, ten counts of drug possession, and one misdemeanor count of conspiracy to possess cocaine. The DC jury convicted on one (of ten) counts of cocaine possession and deadlocked on the other charges. Berry served six months in federal prison, plus probation.
So what did the “occupants” of our capital do with this federal convict? They reelected him of course. One term on the city council, followed by another term as mayor, then three more terms on city council (he died in office in 2014).
I thought of Mr. Berry with recent news of the DC mayoral race. Now the District is over 90% liberal, Kalama Harris won it in 2024 by over 90%. A moderate Republican like Rudy Guliani or Arnold Schwarzenegger would never win. But now there is something worse than Berry.
Janeese Lewis-George, a registered Democratic Socialist, won the Democratic nomination for mayor. While she had “revised” her platform, we can safety assume her previously expressed beliefs have not changed. She wants to defund the police, stop cooperation with ICE, end bail and eliminate prisons. Ms. George also promises “childcare for all,” “affordable” utilities (from government bureaucrats, right), designate “car free zones” to expedite transportation, and expand bicycle lanes.
Washington has over 700,000 “residents.” That’s giving the occupants a lot of citizenship credit. But seeing what is becoming of our capital, and how is it what we present to the world, can we allow these people rule themselves? The answer is unquestionably no.
Electing a Democrat is bad enough. Electing a radical like a Democratic Socialist who opening brags of interfering with federal law enforcement is unfathomable. So what is to be done? What we did for the first 180 years of Washington DC’s existence. Repeal the 1973 Home Rule Act and have Congress control it, as called for in the Constitution.
The organization of the capital government has varied over the centuries. It was a three-commissioner court, appointed by the president, for almost a century (1874-1967). In 1967, President Lyndon Johnson reorganized the central government with an appointed nine-member city council and commissioner. In 1973, Congress passed the Home Rule Act, establishing a thirteen-member council and mayor.
In the early few years of the United States, our interim capital was Philadelphia (1780-1790). In 1783, the Pennsylvania Mutiny forced the Congress to flee when the governor would not deploy the militia to secure the federal legislature. The government moved to multiple other cities (New York, Trenton NY, Annapolis MA) in fear for their safety, and unable to rely on the local authorities (sound familiar?).
Fast forward to the 1960s, we see increasing crime in the DC area (like most of the country). In 1960, the murder per capita in Washington was 10.6. It increased through the 1960s to 36, holding in high 20s/low 30s through the 80s and exploding in the late 80s/90s. I wonder if having a felon as mayor encouraged this?
In 2025, President Trump mobilized the National Guard and sent 2,000 soldiers into DC. While the murder rate was declining before this, overall fewer crimes occurred, particularly auto thefts and property crime. From the Baltimore Sun:
Here are some of the key findings:
During the 30 calendar days since Trump deployed the National Guard and federalized D.C.’s police force, the total number of crimes reported dropped by 18% compared to the previous 30-day period.
Thefts of — and from inside — motor vehicles saw a considerable drop-off during the first 30 days of the National Guard deployment.
D.C. homicides dipped slightly during the start of the mission but were well below 2024 levels prior to Trump’s intervention.
In all fairness, we’re not sure how accurate this is. The interim chief of the Metropolitan Police Department is firing 13 senior officers (captains and above) for manulipating crime statistics under his predecessor, Chief Pamela Smith. Figures don’t lie, but liars’ figure.
And other members of the DC government have issues. Council member Trayon White (representing the same district Mr. Barry did) was arrested on bribery charges. After Mayor Muriel Bowser and several members of her staff took a multi-nation trip funded by Qatar, the Department of Justice opened a bribery investigation (although not targeting the mayor herself.)
This is capital of the United States of America.
We are seeing several of our major city’s self-destruct, and all have one thing in common. Democrat/Democratic Socialist single party rule. New York, the capital of capitalism, elected a socialist and a flood of major corporations are leaving. Seattle elected another Democratic Socialist who managed to get the city’s most known business, Starbucks Coffee, to start a move of its headquarters to Nashville. And now the next mayor of Washington is another avowed Democratic Socialist. It’s bad enough in other cities, it is intolerable in our capital.
As a nation, we have some requirements. One of which is a functioning capital. People (visitors and residents) should be able to be safe in the area and not have to worry about being assaulted inside of a fenced in secure area, then see their assailant walk out of court that afternoon. Ms. Lewis-George will be the next mayor, and she should be the last.
The residents of the district have shown themselves unable to function as citizens in a republic. Home Rule has been a disaster and needs to end now. Go back to the appointed council and mayor (under Johnson) or the previous three commissioners court system.
If the occupants of the District have an issue with this, there is a one-word solution. Move. You don’t like living in the one area in the country carved for a federal capital, fine, there are 50 states you can live in. Some are better than others, but I would suggest you go to New York or California. You’ve already shown yourself incapable of being citizen in a free state. Just go to one of the other failing cities, you’ll fit right in.
Michael A. Thiac is a retired Army intelligence officer, with over 23 years experience, including serving in the Republic of Korea, Japan, and the Middle East. He is also a retired police patrol sergeant, with over 22 years’ service, and over ten year’s experience in field training of newly assigned officers. He has been published at The American Thinker, PoliceOne.com, and on his personal blog, A Cop’s Watch.
Opinions expressed are his alone and do not necessarily reflect the opinions of current or former employers.
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