The ideological war between the Federalists and the states rights republicans will cause a real civil war, again. The coming conflict will manifest over a backlash against the total domination that FedGov™ seems to have over the will of the people. At some point “we the people” will look to the state houses for relief over open borders, trade protection and sane financial policy. Funny, or not so funny, the physical battle lines resemble that of the last civil war. Just look at a map that shows the right-to-work states. The storm is coming.
The tragedy is that a civil war of some substance seems likely. It is likewise a tragedy that you must distinguish “states rights republicans” from the rest, indicating that far too many republicans have turned to statism and agree with the huge majority of Democrats who have entirely turned away from liberty. With far too many political insiders the game is entirely aimed at the aggrandizement of power, and liberty takes a back seat (back seat, my aching back, liberty goes in the trunk).
Likewise, it is a mistake to refer to “states’ rights.” States don’t have “rights.” Only individuals have rights. States have powers. We cannot discuss the issues intelligently when we cannot frame the issues accurately. The powers of the states and the powers of the Federation must be separated with circumspection and discernment.