Originalism in the BlogsMichael Ramsey

Jason Mazzone:  Individual Mandate: Federalism and Rights.  Central point:

The federalism challenge to the individual mandate [in the health care act] does not lose its steam merely because the challenge is ultimately directed at promoting individual liberty. That's what federalism does.

Seems right to me.  I struggle to understand the appeal of a description of federalism as "states' rights," if that is taken to mean that states as states have some sort of moral right we are bound to respect.  Federalism is a worthy goal to the extent it leads to good results for individuals, not because states have moral claims (what ever that might mean).