Welcome back, federalism — Dems begin to champion state's rights
By Former U.S. Rep. John Hostettler, opinion contributor — 05/18/19 10:30 AM EDT
Not all unintended consequences are bad. One consequence of the election of President Donald Trump is that blue states and progressives find themselves keenly interested in the age-old debate about federalism.
But as one writer noted for Vox.com in 2016, “it doesn’t have to be your father’s (or grandfather’s) federalism.â€
Whether it’s your father’s federalism or not, welcome back. There’s plenty of common ground here between progressives and conservatives, at least as far as individual states can amicably agree to disagree. Or more specifically, agreeing that states should be free to seek their own solutions to the problems that plague us all.
For years, the left has leveraged the power of the federal government — often through the courts — to enact broad societal change. Progressives weren’t interested in academic debates over federalism — the proper balance between state powers and federal powers. They just wanted to put their policies in place.
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https://thehill.com/opinion/judiciary/444387-welcome-back-federalism-dems-begin-to-champion-states-rights
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A reflection.
Pregnant and powerful concepts.
Recall Jefferson, Madison and Monroe; Founders, Southerners, Democrats
and States Rights advocates.
Tragically, the Civil War replaced their political vision w/our current joke.
Can we recover it???
Only if we can find their like again, to replace the frauds, hustlers, schmucks,
buffoons and jackasses that we now label governance.
