Jonathon Adler at Volokh’s about Thompson’s appearance on Meet the Press (transcript here)
Many politicians say such things. President Bush, for one, spoke quite a bit about the need for state flexibility when he was a Governor and a candidate, but seems to have forgotten about such things over the past six years. It appears Thompson actually means it, however, as he stuck to his federalist guns even when confronted with issues where many “conservatives” abandon federalism and embrace federal power. He even endorsed state autonomy where such a position meant rejecting policy positions favored by significant portions of the GOP base.
On abortion, for example, Thompson said that he believes that life begins at conception, and that Roe v. Wade was wrongly decided and should be overturned. Yet he further stated that he opposes a constitutional amendment prohibiting abortion and the language endorsing a federal prohibition in the 2004 GOP Platform.
Bryan at Hot Air watched the broadcast as well and wonders if the Frederalist stance on abortion will hurt Thompson’s chances with social conservatives. Follow the link for video of the show.
If your one issue is abortion, none of the candidates is going to make you happy. If you believe Romney’s or Giuliani’s pandering on this issue, you’ll deserve exactly what you get.