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AAAaaaand... if you look at how I used the word "Federalist", you will see that it is entirely consistant with the given definitions. This is sustainable because I made no mention to the Founding Fathers.

However, I would like to point out that Madison and Hamilton also fall under the definition. Particularly Hamilton. Madison was a bit of a Mugwump in that he felt there should be a balance between State and Federal power. Hamilton was a Centrist from the get go as well as a member of the Federalist Party. Neither was against federalised, centrist, power.

Centralising power concentrates power. Too much power in too few hands leads to the "power corrupts" phenomenon. The men you mentioned laid the framework for the expansion of power and abuse that we see today.

Well I disagree on your last statement. I do not believe they laid the frame work. I think Sobran quite rightly points out that the spirit of the Constitution was subverted by significant events, Civil War, Wilson's income tax, Roosevelt's Supreme Court, liberalism from the Vietnam era and so on.

The Framers were concerned about invasion from either Britain, Spain or France. They saw a need to unite the States for the purpose of defense as well as exploration and claims of and on the continent. England still had troops in the north, France had a huge claim on the middle continent all the way to the Gulf and Spain had claimed the West. These claims were fuzzy and nondescript. Settlers and pioneers could not stand against an army from Spain, The French could turn natives against settlements. There had to be a unity to concentrate military power. They affirmed this unity through the Monroe doctrine. There was indeed a purpose for uniting the states.

They were very aware of what could happen and that's why they went through the pains to limit federal power. No, they didn't lay the framework for abuse of the Constitution. Their efforts helped to preserve its spirit for generations. The framework is still there, but it is undefended.

What is needed is an association of people that will defend the Constitution as it was originally planned. That means keeping the federal government checked according to the 9th and 10th amendments. That means appointing supreme court justices that will dismiss cases before it based on these amendments. As long as the political oligarchy remains in Washington as it is, the original constitutional framework will be left unused.