Avent defends the district against Friedersdorf's assault:
People blame the city of Washington for all kinds of things, and they’re almost always wrong to do so. They are especially wrong when they blame the city for generating this kind of corrosive camaraderie or group think. The Washington metropolitan area is home to nearly 6 million people (over 8 million if you count the Baltimore metro area). The central 125 square miles or so are home to just over 1 million people. If you can’t help but spend all your time with the same people, you might want to start by asking whether it isn’t your own shortcomings that need attention, rather than Washington’s.
Friedersdorf continues the thread by asking what would happen if "we reformed the insular nature of Washington DC by dispersing its powerful political figures throughout the country?""