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When we first built the Federalist Party, the vast majority of the people I spoke to initially we conservatives. We knew that a party that focused on reining in DC, defending freedoms, and protecting life would fall perfectly within the model that federalism advocates: shared responsibilities and powers between multiple levels of government to work for the people in their geographic areas.
What we hoped for was an opportunity to share this message with more than just Republicans, Libertarians, Constitutionalists, or any of the right-leaning parties. We hoped that Democrats, Greens, and other left-leaning party members would realize the fastest path to achieving their ideological goals was through federalism. We hoped to show environmentalists that the best way to make an impact on the climate was to work locally instead of embracing the Paris climate deal or the EPA. We felt we could convince leftists that the U.S. Department of Education has been a complete failure for over three decades and they could have more influence over their children’s education by putting the power in the hands of the states, counties, cities, school districts, and most importantly the parents. We hoped we could show that healthcare is made worse by DC, not better.
What we quickly learned after launch is that there wasn’t a whole lot of convincing to do. Liberals in general and Democrats in particular were embracing the potentials that a federalist model would bring. Granted, they were only willing to listen because the GOP is in control of the White House and Capitol Hill, but beggars can’t be choosers. They’re willing to listen now and we’re going to take advantage of it.
A pro-federalism article today by David Davenport and Lenny Mendonca (one conservative, one liberal) appeared in… wait for it… the San Francisco Chronicle. This article does a nice job of laying down the reasons federalism works even for people who aren’t conservatives. It gives us hope that one does not have to hold the Constitutionalist label in order to embrace the tenets of the Constitution itself.
Here’s the Article:
States flexing their power, just as our Founders intended | David Davenport and Lenny Mendonca, San Francisco Chronicle
It is worth noting that federalism 2.0 is not your father’s federalism. For many years, federalism was tainted by its use to defend states’ rights against civil rights laws. Now everything from legalized marijuana, the minimum wage, climate change, immigration, auto emissions, and civil rights is on the federalism agenda. On one issue or another, federalism is now for everyone, from conservatives to liberals, a spectrum represented by the authors.
Final Thoughts
The only way this country is going to fix our biggest internal problems (national debt, overreaching politicians, freedoms under attack, etc) is if we’re able to bring conservatives AND liberals to an understanding that their ideologies have the greatest opportunities to flourish when small-government federalism is applies. Recent events have us extremely excited. The people are starting to get it.
Covid variant BA.5 is spreading. It appears milder but much more contagious and evades natural immunity. Best to boost your immune system with new Z-Dtox and Z-Stack nutraceuticals from our dear friend, the late Dr. Vladimir Zelenko.
Leftists are often inclined toward tyranny. How do you separate localized tyranny from national tyranny? Let’s say the leftists want everyone’s house in their town to be painted red. Heck, it is a local decision, right? But it is still tyranny. I do not follow how you can cater to the leftist mindset, which more often than not, by the way, is a Godless oriented life-view.
I can’t see why we would want the authoritarian, fascistic, tyrannical, “Liberals” in the Federalist Party…
They are the greatest threat to America and the Federalist Party should oppose them !