Now what? Now let's put Romney away before he does more damage.

The warning comes from the Times' editorial board.

On Thursday, Mitt Romney unveiled the latest in a series of bad ideas for taking government duties out of Washington and hiding them in the back rooms of state capitols. Mostly, Mr. Romney wants to allow states to quietly smother social programs the federal government has run for decades. ...NYT

The human damage could be enormous.

Not to mention turning over power to the states, particularly those with Republican governors and legislatures, to allow energy companies easier exploitation of federal lands than the federal government allows them.

Ronald Reagan had a misguided idea in 1982 when he proposed a “new federalism” that would give states control of welfare programs in exchange for complete federal control of Medicaid, but at least he wasn’t proposing an abdication of Washington’s responsibility for the safety net.

Mr. Romney wants to put these programs on the backs of state governments he knows cannot handle the load, then reduce the resources they have now. That may thrill a few die-hard opponents of government, but it could have disastrous consequences. ...NYT