Santorum not a fan of 10th Amendment on social issues

Philip Klein:

A peripheral skirmish between Texas Gov. Rick Perry and former Sen. Rick Santorum over allowing states to legalize gay marriage and medical marijuana could mark an important turning point in a long-running philosophical debate within the conservative movement.

To be sure, there's nothing new about conflict between social-conservative and libertarian Republicans when it comes to the role of government in moral issues. But what is interesting this time around is that Perry, a candidate who is hoping to appeal to social conservatives, is shifting the debate ever so slightly toward the libertarian position.

There are two questions at the heart of the debate: First, does government have a role in promoting morality through lawmaking? Second, should states and local communities answer this question rather than the federal government?

On the first question, there isn't much daylight between Santorum and Perry. Each candidate believes that marriage should only be allowed between a man and a woman, and opposes legalizing medical marijuana.

But it's on the second question -- on balancing the role between federal and state power -- where the two have clashed.

Last year, Perry wrote the book "Fed Up!", which argued that most decisions should be made at the local and state level, as close to the people as possible -- as envisioned by the Founding Fathers.

"From marriage to prayer, from zoning laws to tax policy, from our school systems to health care, it is essential to our liberty that we be allowed to live as we see fit through the democratic process at the local and state level," Perry wrote.

During his presidential campaign, Perry has repositioned himself a bit, emphasizing that he favors a constitutional amendment defining marriage as being between a man and a woman at the federal level. However, he hasn't backed away from his position that until such an amendment passes, the issue should be left to the states. His spokesman reaffirmed this to the Washington Post's Jennifer Rubin this week. He also reiterated that Perry believes states should be able to decide whether to legalize medical marijuana.

A spokesman for Santorum shot back that, "Senator Santorum is certainly an advocate for states' rights, but he believes as Abraham Lincoln -- that states do not have the right to legalize moral wrongs."

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I side with Perry on this issue.  The further you are from control freak government the better off you are.  Deciding these issues at the local level gives you more input and it requires fewer middle men.