RSC in the News

Notes from the New American Federalist Revolution


Washington, Apr 12 - By Mark Tapscott

Is there an American Federalist Revolution going on in this country? Well, the Republican Study Committee, which represents conservative GOPers in the House of Representatives, thinks so and has formed a 10th Amendment Task Force to track and encourage it.

One of the task force's activities is "The 10," a weekly compilation of news from around the country in which people are acting on federalist principles. Here's this week's edition of The 10:

1) One of the biggest hurdles to a reinvigorated federalism is that states have become addicted to “free” federal money.  The Cato Institutes’ Chris Edwards wrote an excellent report in 2007 that describes and analyzes thistangled, ineffective, and constitutionally-problematic web of federal aid to states.     

2) In the Daily Caller, John Rossamando illustrates how the Tea Party is both a potent force and a primary driver in the federalist revival.

3) Mitt Romney joins the “10th Brigade” by arguing to the Union Leader thatPresident Obama’s health care plan violates the 10th Amendment.

4) Greg Sargent struggles to understand the difference between a federal health care mandate and a state health care mandate.  His difficulty demonstrates the all-too-typical liberal blind spot to the concept of federalism.  At the end of the day, conservatives may or may not agree with any health care mandate, but they do grasp there is a significant constitutional difference between the two.

5) The Christian Science Monitor shows that despite the dysfunction in Washington D.C., state lawmakers across the nation are pushing innovative solutions to address problems.  Can anyone say “laboratories of democracy?”

6) In his quirky but uniquely persuasive style, Congressman Thaddeus McCotter (MI-11) makes some great federalist points in this short video.

7) Though he reaches different conclusions than your typical “Tenther” would, Ezra Klein points to a map showing the disparity of federal dollars dispersed to states bases on this 2005 Tax Foundation study.  This is just one of the reasons why federalism should not merely be a conservative concern.

8) Last week, Arizona and Idaho became the sixth and seventh states to sign a “Firearm Freedom Act.”  These bills are premised on a basic 10thAmendment challenge that any firearms made and retained in-state are beyond the authority of Congress under its constitutional power to regulate commerce.

9) Even the New York Times has recognized America is undergoing a federalist re-awakening.

10) Michael LeMieux takes a federalist hammer to some casual thinking about the Constitution in a 2008 Congressional Research report on Federalism.

Online: Washington Examiner

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Congressman Tom Price is Chairman of the Republican Study Committee (RSC).

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