The Other McCain

"One should either write ruthlessly what one believes to be the truth, or else shut up." — Arthur Koestler

Precedents Worth Nurturing

Posted on | August 11, 2011 | 7 Comments

by Smitty

Insty links The Hill discussing snuffing the Department of Transportation.

Appearing late last week on a radio show in his home state, Rep. Cory Gardner (R-Colo.) agreed with the host of the program that the DOT was a “middleman” in transportation projects that can be done without.

“Well, I think there are some great ideas that would basically turn the Department of Transportation back to the states, because why do we have this system that says, hey, we’re going to just have you collect money, and we’re going to scrape some off the top,” Gardner said when KFKA 1310 AM host Amy Oliver asked him about the proposal Friday.

Freaking great idea! This can be a gateway drug for scaling back other federal over-reach. It is a good thing to hear serious discussion of trimming the federal bureaucracy.

Furthermore, I should like to propose a rule, that no new federal bureaucracy can outlive the POTUS who creates it. A regular lifecycle of creation and destruction would blunt the effect of the Iron Law of Bureaucracy.

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Comments

7 Responses to “Precedents Worth Nurturing”

  1. Steve in TN
    August 11th, 2011 @ 5:35 pm

    Followed by the Dept. of Education…

  2. Aggie Sprite
    August 11th, 2011 @ 6:06 pm

    Add to that list the Dept of Energy.

    Scratch that. The Depts of Education and Energy do NOT need to be turned over to the states.

    They just need to be abolished.

  3. McGehee
    August 11th, 2011 @ 8:44 pm

    There is no constitutional basis for federal departments of education, HHS or housing. I could argue that there are only four* federal departments that do have a clear constitutional basis, but I’ll start small for now.

    *State, Justice, Treasury and Defense.

  4. Anonymous
    August 11th, 2011 @ 8:46 pm

    The Hill is definitely Center-Left.  Compared to Politico – solid Left, sometimes venturing into the fetid swamps of the barking moonbats.  I prefer The Hill.  A lot more balance than most MFM sites.  They also offer a tolerant “comments” section.  Yea, most a screaming at one another, but …….  Never can tell.  Baby steps.

  5. Anonymous
    August 12th, 2011 @ 1:15 am

    Cory Gardner is my rep.  Good job, Cory–and you get to keep it IF you follow through with ideas like this!

  6. Quartermaster
    August 12th, 2011 @ 1:26 am

    I’d make the Fed Capital move at the end of every Presidential term. Each agency gets one, just one, half tom Pick Up truck to move. If you can’t get it in there, it goes to the dumpster.

    POTUS gets a small suite in the local Days Inn, and each Congresscritter gets a room at Motel 6 or Super 8.

  7. Anonymous
    August 12th, 2011 @ 9:45 pm

    Preferably in the bad part of town.