Nineteen states have approved permanent daylight saving time.

Here we go again. The days get shorter, the pumpkin spice comes back, and we collectively pretend that moving the clocks backward is a harmless tradition instead of a pointless disruption. Nineteen states have already decided they want to stop this nonsense and keep daylight saving time permanently. Good for them. Too bad Congress can’t get out of its own way and let it happen.

The ridiculous part is that states don’t actually have the authority to make this call. Under federal law, they can exempt themselves from daylight saving and stay on standard time year-round, which a few have tried. But permanent daylight saving requires an act of Congress. So we have a situation where state legislatures have spoken clearly, the public has been complaining for years, and the federal government is still deciding whether to accommodate something almost everyone wants. That's not governance. That's just Washington treating citizens like children.

For a conservative, this should be easy. This is a states’ rights story, plain and simple. If Arizona and Hawaii can opt out, there’s no reason the rest of the country can’t choose the other direction. The federal interest here is minimal, and the local preference is obvious. Let the states set the clocks. If Congress won't act, then let the states find a workaround or just let them ignore the federal rule and dare someone to enforce it. The only thing worse than changing the clocks is being told we can’t stop..