Who is Responsible for Toothless Federalism? –
by Stuart MacPhail June, 2019
In a May 5 posting, 71Republic carried an opinion piece entitled “Give the States Some Teeth”. The writer laments about the US “today the traditions of federalism are little more than theory. The federal government has expanded at an extraordinary rate, affecting nearly every part of our lives.”
At one point the writer says “the onus of maintaining this perfect state of federalism is on the federal government alone.” Then later the writer says “We cannot look to the federal government to correct this.” He/she suggests the answer lays in a series of needed constitutional amendments, including an amendment to Article V “that reforms the amendment process [to] give states more oversight of the federal government.”
A growing number of American citizens are saying the country needs “A mid-course correction… to avoid having our American republic experience a slow but certain death.” And for that, states must take the lead. Read the article HERE.
One person who would challenge the notion that “traditions of federalism are little more than theory” (although he might agree that federalism is currently near-toothless) is Utah State Rep. Ken Ivory. He is an active member of the Federalism Task Force for ALEC, and chair of the ALEC Center to Restore the Balance of Government.
Ivory has published his own book on the importance of federalism called “Where’s the Line? How States Protect the Constitution”. The 97-page book can be obtained FREE HERE. Simply enter your email address and your first name. By doing that an email will be triggered that will include a free download link.
Rep. Ivory’s most recent article on federalism “Federalism Is a Tug of War and States Need to Pull” can be read HERE.
