What Does Fred Thompson Mean When He Calls Himself a Federalist?

Fred Thompson is loudly trumpeting that he is a federalist in his run for President. But what exactly does Thompson mean when he says is a federalist? In fact, it is a difficult question to answer exactly because there have been so many shifting definitions of federalism, including the most recent political form of so-called New Federalism as practiced by Republican Presidents from Nixon to Bush. All notions of federalist thought trace back to the founding of the Constitution and battle between the federalists and the confederalists. Obviously, the federalists eventually won that battle for the most part, but does Fred Thompson actually possess the same beliefs that are outlined in the Federalist Papers?

The easiest definition of federalism is that it is a form of government that attempts to equalize the distribution of power in the United States between the central national authority and the rights of states. Both the federal and state governments have the powers to do such things as tax citizens and create laws. The key to understanding why this would be called federalism despite the fact that the states have certain equal rights is that the Constitutional mandates these powers and prohibits one from overriding the other. In other words, the federal Congress can't pass a law specific to any state and no state Congress can pass a federal law. Part and parcel with this is that neither governing body actually derives its powers from the other. The federal system derives is power from the U.S.Constitution. The state government derives its power from the state constitution. But here's where the federalist name comes in. The ultimate law of the land is the U.S. Constitution and no state constitution can trump the U.S. Constitution. So while state and local governments don't answer to the federal government and operate under their own constitution, that constitution must be in abeyance to the national constitution. Sounds complicated and it is. That's why the Supreme Court is so busy these days.