Firstly, my tagline does not mention Constitutionalists, but the people who often call themselves Constitutionalists.
In reality that group of people are generally Anti-Federalists and Neo-Confederates in their approach to and interpretation of the Constitution.
As such they embrace a flawed theory of the Constitution as a treaty between states instead of its true nature as an ordinance of the people of the United States.
As such they pursue a theory of interpretation employed by the frustrated Anti-Federalists - strict construction.
As such, they champion bizarre notions like the oxymoronic "states' rights."
They also embrace outlandish conspiracy theories like the idea that the 16th Amendment was never ratified.
I am a Federalist who respects the Constitution as an ordinance of the American people as a whole. I acknowledge original intent as the interpretive norm desired by the Framers and I take the Constitution at its own word as the supreme law of the land.
I’m curious, do you think the federal government is too powerful and/or using powers it isn’t not Consitutionally granted?
The federal government isn't too powerful. The main problem with the federal government is that it spends far too much on all sorts of unnecessary programs. Under the Constitution the federal government has the power to tax - the problem is not one of usurpation of forbidden power but the abuse of authorized power. And, if anything, the state governments are more guilty than the federal government of waste and micromanagement. Any excess ascribed to the federal government goes double for dozens of state governments and triple for hundreds of municipal governments.
The federal government's main job is the provision of national defense, the maintenance of internal security and the protection of America's interests abroad - these are great tasks and are accompanied by great powers. The federal government is dissipating itself on stupid programs like Social Security and Medicare that distract it from its main purposes.
Explain “oxymoronic ‘states’ rights’”. I’m not sure I understand. I guess states don’t have “rights” as people do, but I think that’s just terminology.
On the subject of the 16th Amendment, do you think income tax was already permitted by the Constitution or that it required the 16th Amendment (I’ve heard once or twice that the income tax allowed under the original Constitution).
As for the federal government’s power, I agree that it spends too much on random little things and even some fairly big ones like SS and Medicare, both of which I oppose. But wouldn’t that mean the Feds are too “powerful”? Do you think there is Constitutionality in SS and M and if so do you just oppose them because you think they are wasteful (not because the government doesn’t have the legal ability to do it)?
So in your opinion states and local governments are more wasteful and corrupt (?). My reaction would be that the feds are far more wasteful than the state and local governments.
Get rid of the New Deal "substantial effects doctrine" and most of that would stop. They've turned the Commerce Clause into and open-ended expansion of federal government authority into things it was never authorized to control.