Also overlooked in the Palin interview with the Roe question is the fact that Palin, in supporting States rights called herself "a federalist."  Typically, that is a term that refers to someone who advocates a strong central government.  After all, the Federalist Papers were written by three men who advocated what at that time would be a stronger central government.  Later, Alexander Hamilton and John Adams were termed Federalists because they favored making the national government strong and capable.  The use of the term since then typically refers to centralizers, not decentralizers.

Now, Sarah Palin probably merely refers to herself as a federalist because she favors federalism. And federalism allocates some tasks to the central government, and leaves others to the states.  The states rights crowd wants more limitations on central power:  "the Federal government is a limited government of assigned powers, all others being left to the states; it has only enumerated powers, and those implied powers absolutely necessary to effect the enumerated powers."  I have not heard such advocates called Federalists.


I suppose in the context of the "right to privacy" in Roe (and Griswald v. Connecticut), this is really being snarky.  But while we are piling on . . . .