Republicans need to end the federal coercion wherein Washington puts its nose under the tent with some grants, states become dependent on the cash, then find they are vassals of the manor lords at the departments of Homeland Security, Health and Human Services, and Education. Republicans must repeal the national drinking age.

The penalty for not complying with the national minimum drinking age is a 10 percent haircut on federal highway funds. Governors and state legislatures are reluctant to reject federal aid, so all states have fallen in line with this blackmail.

By eliminating this requirement in the highway reauthorization, Republicans could make a principled stand against federal coercion of the states while probably picking up some younger voters along the way. As Glenn Reynolds pointed out in November, “it’s hard to imagine [Obama] vetoing this.”