me Court as the arbiter of jurisdictional disputes between the federal and state governments. So long as these elements of federalism are in balance, the federalist system provides a greater measure of liberty for all Americans. But, the new federalists fail to honor this arrangement in claiming too much for the states. Their arguments undermine the balance of power, and, rather than solving the problems they find in the central government, shift the problems to the states. The reasoning behind these ideas is based on a desire for greater liberty, but the true motivations of the current federalists are related less to improving liberty than to forwarding political ends.
Though it is more accurate to say that those who favor a balanced federalism are "federalists," current groups calling for the "devolution" of power from Washington to the state capitals have adopted the label for themselves. As McClay points out, however, it is necessary to distinguish between federalist and libertarian goals among these federalists. There is a strong strain of libertarianism in the new federalism, and its aim is "to empower individuals against the government at all levels." House Speaker Gingrich, for example, says that while he "sympathize[s] with state and local government, what we really want to do is to devolve power all the way out of government [and return] responsibility to the individual." This is the kind of rhetoric that wins elections. But, the Contract with America, and other Republican initiatives, have tied the devolution of power to other goals in a manner that increases the ambiguity of American federalism. As Walker points out, "other objectives (i.e., a balanced budge
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