False Hope

In Stateline article entitled "States Hope for a Better Deal in New Congress" we find the following:

State lawmakers of both parties will be looking for relief from some federal policies imposed on states under the GOP’s watch, including expensive new rules for driver’s licenses and education mandates under the No Child Left Behind Act. In addition, a growing number of state policies targeting illegal immigration and global warming will put pressure on new Democratic leaders in Congress to answer states’ calls for greater federal involvement.

This much I mostly agree with - although the sad truth is most states do not actually seek to remove the Federal Government from areas that belong to the states, rather they seek Federal dollars to carry out various Federal mandates.

Here is the most asinine statement anyone could possibly make on the issue of states' rights -

While the Republican Party traditionally was known as a supporter of states’ rights, it hasn't lived up to that reputation since taking control of Congress and the White House.

Has the ideology of the Party of Lincoln really changed so much as to actually make a supporter of states' rights? Name one piece of legislation in the last 40 years, sponsored or supported by the GOP, that actually supports and defends states' rights. The silence is overwhelming...

State leaders hope the turnover in Washington, D.C., will stanch what they describe as an unprecedented expansion of federal power over states during the term of President Bush, a former Texas governor.

"You know, it's the Republican Party that always talks about states' rights and the federal government having less to say about it. But on so many important issues it hasn't been that way," said Pennsylvania Gov. Ed Rendell (D).

Ok, tell us something we don't already know - but don't expect us to actually believe the Democratic Party is for states' rights either. The party of the New Deal and the Great Society, the party that covets the power of the 14th Amendment more than the air we breath, the party of social programs and socialism - no I think they are no fans of states' rights.

Americans that love their homes and their states, the traditional repository of government loyalty and citizenship, must do away with the notion that either party is actually for states' rights. We must either usurp the leadership of one or both of these parties or (better yet) focus on electing right-minded states' rights supporters to our governors' mansions and state houses (regardless of party). Once we have states that actually stand up for their rights, the wishes and whims of the Federal Government can be made moot.