--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Taking legislative authority away from…" description: "\"Taking legislative authority away from the federal government doesn't necessarily mean freer individuals. It might just mean granting vastly more autho..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c03/dahlia-lithwick-17366_authority_taking-legislative-authority-away-from-t_435223.jpg" --- # Taking legislative authority away from the federal… ![“Taking legislative authority away from the federal government doesn't necessarily mean freer individuals. It might just mean granting vastly more authority to the states--which already have far broader police powers than most of us would care to admit.” quote by Dahlia Lithwick](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c03/dahlia-lithwick-17366_authority_taking-legislative-authority-away-from-t_435223.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c03/dahlia-lithwick-17366_authority_taking-legislative-authority-away-from-t_435223.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c03/dahlia-lithwick-17366_authority_taking-legislative-authority-away-from-t_435223.jpg) > “Taking legislative authority away from the federal government doesn't necessarily mean freer individuals. It might just mean granting vastly more authority to the states--which already have far broader police powers than most of us would care to admit.” [Dahlia Lithwick](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dahlia-lithwick/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Shifting power to states may not increase freedom; it can concentrate authority locally. **In simple terms:** More state power doesn’t guarantee personal liberty. Key Takeaway Assess power structures critically. Themes federalism states’ rights liberty Mood analytical cautious Type political critical When to use this quote - local governance - healthcare regulation - education standards Key Concepts political theory law public policy Questions to Reflect On - What safeguards protect individual freedoms? - How does decentralization affect accountability? A Different Perspective State power can still limit rights if unchecked. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Authority](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/authority/) [Authority Away](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/authority-away-3828115/) [Broader Police](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/broader-police-3828113/) [Care](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/care/) [Federal government](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/federal-government/) [Freer Individuals](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/freer-individuals-3828114/) [Government](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/government/) [Individual](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/individual/) [Legislative Authority](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/legislative-authority-2098346/) [Mean](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/mean/) [Might](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/might/) [Police](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/police/) [Police power](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/police-power/) [Police Powers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/police-powers-2683723/) [Politics](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/politics/) [States](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/states/) ## Related quotes > [What was to be a relatively innocuous federal government, operating from a defined enumeration of specific grants of power, has become an ever-present and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/what-was-to-be-a-relatively-innocuous-federal-government-operating/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [September 11th does not justify ignoring the Constitution by creating broad new federal police powers. The rule of law is worthless if we ignore…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ron-paul/september-11th-does-not-justify-ignoring-the-constitution-by-creating/) [Ron Paul](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ron-paul/) > [Congress constitutionally lacks general police powers.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mike-lee/congress-constitutionally-lacks-general-police-powers/) [Mike Lee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mike-lee/) > [“The late political scientist Aaron B. Wildavsky noted that “the power of the purse is the heart of legislative authority and thus an essential…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andrew-mccarthy/the-late-political-scientist-aaron-b-wildavsky-noted-that-the-power/) [Andrew McCarthy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andrew-mccarthy/) > [I do not conceive that power is given to the President and Senate to dismember the empire, or to alienate any great, essential right.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-madison/i-do-not-conceive-that-power-is-given-to-the-president-and-senate-to/) [James Madison](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-madison/) > [What Obama did wrong with executive power is he tried to change the law. He tried to ignore the law. And under the Constitution,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ted-cruz/what-obama-did-wrong-with-executive-power-is-he-tried-to-change-the/) [Ted Cruz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ted-cruz/) > [In republican government the legislative authority necessarily predominates. The remedy for this . . . is to divide the legislature into different branches; and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-madison/in-republican-government-the-legislative-authority-necessarily/) [James Madison](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-madison/) > [“In general, the natural dividing line between legislative and nonlegislative power was between rules that bound subjects and those that did not. Legal obligation…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/philip-hamburger/in-general-the-natural-dividing-line-between-legislative-and/) [Philip Hamburger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/philip-hamburger/) > [The Constitution is the origin and measure of legislative authority. It says to legislators, thus far ye shall go and no farther. Not a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-paterson/the-constitution-is-the-origin-and-measure-of-legislative-authority/) [William Paterson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-paterson/) > [It is of the nature of war to increase the executive at the expense of the legislative authority.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alexander-hamilton/it-is-of-the-nature-of-war-to-increase-the-executive-at-the-expense/) [Alexander Hamilton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alexander-hamilton/) > [The idea of restraining the legislative authority, in the means of providing for the national defense, is one of those refinements which owe their…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alexander-hamilton/the-idea-of-restraining-the-legislative-authority-in-the-means-of/) [Alexander Hamilton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alexander-hamilton/) > [Secondly, as a result of this political favoritism, the FDA has become a primary factor in that formula whereby cartel-oriented companies in the food…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/g-edward-griffin/secondly-as-a-result-of-this-political-favoritism-the-fda-has-become/) [G. Edward Griffin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/g-edward-griffin/) > [John Steinbeck's 'The Grapes of Wrath' also speaks urgently to today's concerns: the cratered trail of dreams for Mexican immigrants seeking a promised land…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-corliss/john-steinbeck-s-the-grapes-of-wrath-also-speaks-urgently-to-today-s/) [Richard Corliss](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-corliss/) > [The whole drug war is nothing but a pretext to increase police power and personnel, and that, of course, is dead wrong. So many…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-s-burroughs/the-whole-drug-war-is-nothing-but-a-pretext-to-increase-police-power/) [William S. Burroughs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-s-burroughs/) > [If legislators come to believe that police power is an ever-present constitutional trump card they can play whenever it suits them, overreaching is inexorable.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/don-willett/if-legislators-come-to-believe-that-police-power-is-an-ever-present/) [Don Willett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/don-willett/) ## More by Dahlia Lithwick > [Never believe in any faith younger than you are.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dahlia-lithwick/never-believe-in-any-faith-younger-than-you-are/) [Dahlia Lithwick](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dahlia-lithwick/) > [I think particularly on the left, progressives wanted more bombast and more.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dahlia-lithwick/i-think-particularly-on-the-left-progressives-wanted-more-bombast-and/) [Dahlia Lithwick](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dahlia-lithwick/) > [Thurgood Marshall was uniquely able to understand and comprehend what it meant to grow up in the Jim Crow south.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dahlia-lithwick/thurgood-marshall-was-uniquely-able-to-understand-and-comprehend-what/) [Dahlia Lithwick](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dahlia-lithwick/) > [There can be no difference between same-sex couples and opposite-sex couples anywhere in the USA.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dahlia-lithwick/there-can-be-no-difference-between-same-sex-couples-and-opposite-sex/) [Dahlia Lithwick](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dahlia-lithwick/) > [Over the past few years, the Supreme Court was six times more likely to accept cases from an elite group of 66 lawyers than…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dahlia-lithwick/over-the-past-few-years-the-supreme-court-was-six-times-more-likely/) [Dahlia Lithwick](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dahlia-lithwick/) > [I've been thinking so much about how grateful I am to cover the court because the constraints of calm and civility are really palpable…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dahlia-lithwick/i-ve-been-thinking-so-much-about-how-grateful-i-am-to-cover-the-court/) [Dahlia Lithwick](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dahlia-lithwick/) > [ I'm hardly the first person to say that you've \[Jeffrey Rosen\] written a book about a person who has more to say about the… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dahlia-lithwick/i-m-hardly-the-first-person-to-say-that-you-ve-jeffrey-rosen-written/) [Dahlia Lithwick](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dahlia-lithwick/) > [We don't care what the framers would have thought of violent video games. Times are changing.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dahlia-lithwick/we-don-t-care-what-the-framers-would-have-thought-of-violent-video/) [Dahlia Lithwick](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dahlia-lithwick/) > [ A lot of conservative writers have twisted that argument in the conversation around Judge \[Gonzalo\] Curiel and said this is identity politics as played… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dahlia-lithwick/a-lot-of-conservative-writers-have-twisted-that-argument-in-the/) [Dahlia Lithwick](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dahlia-lithwick/) > [Even Merrick Garland can't get up and give a press conference in which he says, "Give me a damn vote." We just hear silence.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dahlia-lithwick/even-merrick-garland-can-t-get-up-and-give-a-press-conference-in/) [Dahlia Lithwick](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dahlia-lithwick/) > [For the most part, much of the legal world's attention has been focused on Donald Trump and his attacks on Gonzalo Curiel, the federal…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dahlia-lithwick/for-the-most-part-much-of-the-legal-world-s-attention-has-been/) [Dahlia Lithwick](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dahlia-lithwick/) > [I just don't think we think about jurists as rock stars or great thinkers, particularly in the political world.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dahlia-lithwick/i-just-don-t-think-we-think-about-jurists-as-rock-stars-or-great/) [Dahlia Lithwick](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dahlia-lithwick/) > [The Framers were no more interested in binding future Americans to a set of divinely inspired commandments than any of us would wish to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dahlia-lithwick/the-framers-were-no-more-interested-in-binding-future-americans-to-a/) [Dahlia Lithwick](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dahlia-lithwick/) > [One of the things that drives me batty is people who think they're court watchers, who say, "Oh, Clarence Thomas. You know, his clerks…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dahlia-lithwick/one-of-the-things-that-drives-me-batty-is-people-who-think-they-re/) [Dahlia Lithwick](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dahlia-lithwick/) > [“I think men get nervous when women start counting the number of female senators, and whites become edgy when they hear the next Supreme…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dahlia-lithwick/i-think-men-get-nervous-when-women-start-counting-the-number-of/) [Dahlia Lithwick](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dahlia-lithwick/) [Explore all 37 Dahlia Lithwick quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dahlia-lithwick/) ## More Authority quotes > [I don't believe in competitions between artists. This is insane. 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