It's worth bearing in mind that even in the old day federalism was put to progressive uses. In the 1850s, when the national government was firmly controlled by pro-slavery Democrats, free juries in the north commonly nullified the Fugitive Slave Act. And had the Democrats not been crazy enough to split into moderately pro-slavery and batshit insane pro-slavery wings and thus hand the election to Lincoln, it seems quite plausible that an anti-slavery secessionist movement would have emerged in New England and the Burnt Out District.

It is interesting that the author ignores the severe economic implications of federalism. For as long as capital can cross borders with impunity and if taxation were to increasingly devolve to local bodies then the democracy of federalism would result in a race to the bottom of neo-liberal Paul Ryan type economics, right to work labor policies, and life threatening deregulation.

Well, no. I mean, if the people within any given jurisdiction choose to govern themselves in such a way as to bottom out, wouldn't that be their own choice? And wouldn't it be fully within those people's ability to remedy the situation as they best see fit?

The implications of this sort of federalism only have to be severe if people use their newfound independence poorly. That would be of their own making, for better or worse, would it not? And as such, they could choose to fix it. Or not.

The area I live in is a resort area and needs people trained in the hospitality business. We really don't see the need here for a lot of green workers, but there is a lot of money out there right now for that sort of thing. It's a waste, when it is directed by some politicians in DC trying to buy votes. Let that money stay local and be used locally. It's wasteful to cycle it through DC and K Street.

As a conservative libertarian, I find much to like here.

The biggest problem with 'getting states rights right' is mistrust - much of the left is convinced federalism is simply a code word for persecuting minorities, and much of the right is deeply skeptical of measures such as medicinal marijuana at the state level.

That mistrust is real, it exists, and it is not easy to overcome.

Federalism - or states rights - or local ism - done correctly - offers a real possibility of resolving our present political logjam.

I am also a libertarian and enjoyed this article.

Using the 2008 election, why should we accept a Republican from Arizona who wants to force a conservative agenda on California. Why should we accept a Democrat from Illinois who would want to force a liberal agenda on Texas?

Can the people of these states rule themselves? If you don't like what your state is doing, you can always move to a state more in line with your views.

Will states abuse their authority. OF COURSE! They are political entities and all political entities do.

However, it is easier to force change on the local or state level compared to the federal level.

If the feds pass a bad law, like the NDAA, it is much harder to change the law and the bad law effects everyone. Where as a state passes a bad law, it just effects those in that state.

We can accept McDonald's and Burger King fighting for our dollars. Why not make states fight for your citizenship and tax dollars?

The problem is that "States Rights" is viewed as a code word for "Someone might make a choice I disagree with".

And let's face it- no one is willing to allow someone else to do that. We really only want others to have the right to make the choices we want them to make.