With Trump in office, I keep hoping liberals will see the danger of consolidation and expansion of federal power. Some wonder if marijuana could be the gateway drug to federalism.
If Federalism’s most notable appeal is that it can throw a wrench in the gears when the Federal Government opts to do spectacularly bad things, the argument is already lost IMO. Because, among other things, who can throw a wrench into the gears when states opt to do spectacularly bad things? Whoever gets primacy gets the ability to screw people over, any good anarchist could tell you that.
That said, liberals AFAIK have never been against Federalism per se, but see the role of the Federal goverment fundamentally differently than conservatives. There’s plenty of good stuff in Federalism, liberals just hate most of the things conservatives love about it, and vice-versa.
I think Federalism’s biggest appeal is that decisions are being made closest to home. Of course, this isn’t a purely either/or choice where anarchy can get a foothold. Our Constitution imposes limitations on the states and grants broad powers the the federal government.
Some may be happy with the current balance but the clear trend is toward consolidation and expansion of federal power. Some think we should keep going in that direction, and quickly! There is a conviction that history will continue on an arc they like. And there is a belief that the federal government is capable of doing things better than the states. The fact that there are 50 not wholly independent states (each composed of liberal and conservative dominated areas) all exerting influence on each other, that can itself mitigate bad things and create good models for other states to adopt.
So when California wants to be a “Sanctuary” for immigrants or New York wants to implement stricter gun control or Colorado wants pot to be legal, they can do those things. And if Alabama wants to turn people here illegally over to the Feds, allow open carry of guns, and keep laws against drugs, let that happen too. That’s almost where we are right now. And yet, many people think we should/must adopt a uniform law on these matters.
Whether these are spectacularly good or bad policies is in the eye of the beholder, but there’s something to be said for giving the leeway for different policies to exist, and to maintain obstacles to consolidation of power.