Daniel Hemel on Federalism as the "Last Best Hope for Progressivism"

Jefferson: The Musical

Twenty states and the District of Columbia voted for Hillary Clinton yesterday. Those states are home to 44% of the nation’s population and are responsible for 50% of its gross domestic product. For those of us Clinton supporters living in solidly blue states, tonight’s result will lead us in the short run to despair — and in the long run to federalism.

If President Trump’s Supreme Court nominees tip the balance toward overruling Roe v. Wade, then blue states can respond by enacting reproductive rights laws of our own at the state level. If President Trump and his congressional allies follow through with their pledge to “repeal and replace” Obamacare, then blue states can respond by implementing state-wide Romneycare regimes. If, even more frighteningly, President Trump tries to oust the millions of undocumented individuals living peacefully in our midst, we can adopt “sanctuary city” and “sanctuary state” laws that prohibit our police officers from participating in deportations. Much of what Trump does at the national level, we can undo at the state level — at least up to a point.

Where exactly is that point? What our the limits to federalism’s reach? Well, only about 30% of U.S. carbon dioxide emissions emanate from blue states, so there’s a cap to what we can do about climate change through RGGI-likecompacts. We can’t prevent Trump from adding trillions to our national debt. We can’t save NAFTA on our own. When it comes to military matters, we’re pretty much powerless. And, of course, there’s not much we can do to shield our friends and family members in red states from the Trump administration’s blow — except to invite them to move in.

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