Inside the Beltway
"Inside the Beltway" is a phrase used to characterize parts of the real or imagined American political system. The name refers to the Capital Beltway (Interstate 495), a circumferential highway (beltway), completed in 1964, that encircles Washington, D.C., the capital of the United States.
The phrase is commonly used to refer to matters that are or seem important primarily to the officials of the U.S. federal government, its contractors and lobbyists, and the media which cover them, in contrast to interests and views of the U.S. population generally.
The phrase is sufficiently well known in the U.S. that the mere word "Beltway" is used in various combinations for many discussions about national politics, including newspaper columns, television shows, web sites and blogs. For example, some government contracting companies located in or near Washington have been called Beltway Bandits.
The term "Inside the Beltway" is also sometimes employed in a literal, geographic sense in the Washington, D.C., area to describe the city and those portions of Maryland and Virginia that are close to the nation's capital. These include not only Washington, D.C., but also Arlington County, Virginia; the city of Falls Church, Virginia; most of the city of Alexandria, Virginia; and portions of Montgomery and Prince George's counties in Maryland and Fairfax County in Virginia.
[edit] History of the phrase
The phrase is a form of metonymy. An early use of the phrase can be seen in "The Warren Commission Didn't Know Everything" by Nicholas M. Horrock, The New York Times, October 12, 1975, page 230, which begins:
"In the White House of Richard M. Nixon, it was said that Watergate would become serious only if it "got outside the Washington Beltway," if the depths of the disgrace were understood by the American people. In 1974, the truth of Watergate flooded the country, and the Nixon presidency ended.
"It can be said that the myriad doubts about the Warren Commission's findings in the death of President Kennedy represent a reverse situation. The doubts would never be taken seriously until they were inside the Beltway, in the halls of Congress, the courts and the White House."
[edit] Similar phrases elsewhere
"Inside the Beltway" has been adopted by some New Zealand political commentators,[1][2] even though there is no comparable "beltway" around Wellington, New Zealand's capital city.
"Westminster Bubble" or "Westminster village" is a term for a similar concept in the United Kingdom. "Inside the Queensway" is used in Canada.[3]
