American citizens have long understood that restraint on Washington’s power makes more sense than excessive centralized bureaucracy.
American citizens have long understood that restraint on Washington’s power makes more sense than excessive centralized bureaucracy.
A s the story goes, hip-hop artist LL Cool J, surveying the rise of flashier, aggressive, violence-minded gangsta rappers, confided to his grandmother that he felt that his career was in decline. The critics, he believed, just didn’t care for his style of music anymore. Granny’s advice was simple: “Oh baby, just knock ’em out!” LL turned advice from Granny into a Grammy-winning song, “Mama Said Knock You Out,” relaunching his career.
American federalism is similarly pressed on all sides these days by unfriendly foes, self-described progressives and conservatives who have nothing in common beyond a conviction that vast powers administered by smart people like them in Washington, D.C., are the only corrective for America’s course. While LL Cool J may have had competitors who were more popular with fans, however, federalism’s competitors are anything but. Indeed, as D.C. power has grown, public confidence in major institutions has collapsed, particularly those entrenched in D.C.
American citizens understand that federalism, which places strict restraints on Washington’s power, makes more sense than centralized bureaucratic rulemaking. The adage that the government closest to the governed governs best rings true. “Don’t call it a comeback,” LL warned in the first line of his hit song. “I been here for years.” Likewise for the wisdom of federalism.
In Freedom and Federalism, the 20th-century Pulitzer Prize–winning writer Felix Morley put it this way: “What should be better appreciated is the fact that the farther we get from the local community, the more gaudy and the less democratic our politics become.” Covid decrees, the overturning of Roe v. Wade, and state election reforms are just a few recent examples that are helping to spark a federalism revival.
The political winds are shifting on the campaign trail, too. Florida governor and presidential hopeful Ron DeSantis punted recently on a question, once considered a layup, posed by a ninth-grader about what he would do to ensure healthy school lunches. Saying that it’s not the role of the federal government, DeSantis then pivoted to past blunders made by federal agencies with the food pyramid, adding, “They need to be cleaned out.” That thinking is more commonplace now. Even most media outlets did little to feign horror over his response.
His response clashed with our former first lady’s top-down “expert” approach. American kids were force-fed Michelle Obama’s Healthy, Hunger-Free Kids Act, which sounds like a mouthful, yet one of the consequences turned out to be hungrier students.
States are keener to push back against federal overreach, demanding more control over their destiny as our national dysfunction and debt pile up. Tennessee is seriously considering rejecting federal education dollars, and in the 2022 midterm elections Florida and Missouri essentially told Department of Justice election observers that wanted access to polling places to pound sand. Understandably, they resented being questioned by unelected bureaucrats on their ability to run free and fair elections.
Telling and having conversations about these stories are just one reason that American Habits exists, a brand-new publication launched by the Center for Practical Federalism of the State Policy Network. While critics and friends alike might be inclined to treat federalism as a dusty museum piece, we’re going to show that there’s a lot of practical application to be found within its principles. Federalism is a well-functioning tool that can still serve America. If anything, it’s national politicians who neglect it at our national peril who have become stale and rusty. That’s one reason we’ll focus on state and local champions of federalism and self-governance.
Our first local-hero profile is about a school-board member in North Carolina who turned her car around from a Christmas shopping excursion in a race to beat the filing deadline for office. We’ve also interviewed a former governor and a state lawmaker to demonstrate how first principles can (and should) be practiced by elected representatives.
Most important, a robust system of federalism reflects the habits and rhythms of a people capable of self-government. That’s the story of America — and it’s been happening all along — even when many desperately cling to focusing all their attention and energy on the incessant chaos in Washington.
It shouldn’t be surprising that when the few in society rule, they are the system’s chief beneficiaries. When Tocqueville visited America, he gushed about the local hubs of life and self-government. “The people reign over the American political world as God rules over the universe,” he wrote in Democracy in America. Or as LL Cool J sings: “Don’t you call this a regular jam. / I’m gonna rock this land.”
American Habits exists because we believe authority and power rests with the people and not for a set-apart centralized ruling class. If you still believe that “We the People” is more than a greeting card–like slogan, join us on our journey.