Rehnquist's Ironic Legacy

I've given some thought to writing a blog about the irony of Rehnquist dying as the nation was facing a hurricane. Tony Mauro's article "Ironies abound as Rehnquist leaves us" in today's USA Today says more than I knew to say. Here's an excerpt:

The balance of power between state and federal government is a perennial debate, and Rehnquist spent much of his career on the Supreme Court trying to readjust that balance in favor of states. Following what he believed to be the intent of the Constitution's framers, Rehnquist tried mightily to rein in Congress and keep it and federal agencies from turning states into unimportant subsidiaries that must depend on the federal government to act. The Bush administration is filled with adherents to Rehnquist's doctrine; Michael Leavitt, the secretary of Health and Human Services who has become a familiar figure since the hurricane, first gained national attention as a Utah governor who pushed hard against federal domination of the states.

So at a policy level, it probably should have been no surprise that the Bush administration hung back too long before federalizing the relief effort. In a broad context, there are valid arguments to be made against excessive federal power. If you think about it, it should be difficult to send U.S. soldiers into the streets of the USA for essentially law enforcement duties; it is in our national genes not to want federal troops used against our own citizens.

That said, though, there has to be a way to overcome this reluctance more quickly when troops are needed domestically for humanitarian reasons. And the hurricane aftermath proves the seemingly obvious point that there are times when a swift and strong federal response must pre-empt competing or confused state and local interests. The terrorist attacks on Sept. 11, 2001, also showed the need for a strong national government; states and localities are not equipped to chase after Osama bin Laden.

Technorati Tags Politics, Supreme Court, Hurricane