Fight for States' Rights

If you haven't read this, take a minute and do so. After 80 years of the federal government imposing their will on the states, the states are starting to fight back.

The problem that this is going to run into, is that the Constitution says that the federal government is to promote the general welfare, which some believe gives the federal government the right to do almost anything as long as they believe it promotes the general welfare. While this is not often used in court arguments, it does influence what politicians try to do. In order to expand the reach of the federal government, politicians have turned to the commerce clause, which has become so broad that the government can make an argument for regulating almost anything, and the Supreme Court has usually upheld their arguments.

In addition to supporting the reach of the commerce clause, the Supreme Court has repeatedly ruled against states who tried to used the Tenth Amendment to argue that the federal government did not have the authority to pass certain laws. There are of course rare exceptions to this, but the precedent is there to the benefit of the federal government.

As much as I would like to see the power of the federal government limited in favor of states' rights, I am doubtful that anything will come of this.