Federalism
Thompson has said that federalism was his "lodestar" in the Senate, providing "a basis for a proper analysis of most issues: 'Is this something government should be doing? If so, at what level of government?'" Thompson views federalism as both a matter of good sense, as well as a feature of the federal Constitution:
Our government, under our Constitution, was established upon the principles of Federalism -- that the federal government would have limited enumerated powers and the rest would be left to the states. It not only prevented tyranny, it just made good sense. States become laboratories for democracy and experiment with different kinds of laws. One state might try one welfare reform approach, for example. Another state might try another approach. One would work and the other would not. The federal welfare reform law resulted from just this process. Federalism also allows for the diversity that exists among the country's people. Citizens of our various states have different views as to how traditional state responsibilities should be handled. This way, states compete with each other to attract people and businesses -- and that is a good thing.
Thompson's web site includes a video on this subject, in which he says that, "Federalism divides power between the states and government in Washington. It is a tool to promote freedom."
Read more about this topic: Political Positions Of Fred Thompson