“Many, myself included, have preached federalism as the best way for Leftists to achieve their grand visions and reshape the societies in which they live. Make your own locality as you wish, subject as I mentioned before to the strictures and protections of the Constitution and especially the Bill of Rights. It'd be a whole lot easier than trying to press Red America through their Play Doh Fun Factories, and they'd achieve SO many more of their goals.”
It used to be (fairly long ago) the "conservative" mindset believed (for example) if we choose to ban alcohol sales on Sunday (or strip clubs or whatever) locally, it should be banned everywhere, because that's the only way to prevent people from crossing county or state lines and abrogating our rules. I think the conservatives largely learned their lesson and have since ceased trying to impose their morality on everybody else. Abortion is an obvious exception - but then they argue (with sincere justification) abortion affects another life. Conservatives have largely - mostly - allowed for other communities to decide among themselves divisive issues like gay marriage. Of course, not every "conservative" thinks the way I do, but this has been my observation. Conservatives, through decades of beat-down and loss, have accepted that people have the right to live in the community of their desire. We're far more libertarian-friendly today and we see that reflected in many (most) of the leading voices on the right.
It also used to be (long ago it seems) that "the Left" advocated for a "live and let live" mindset, leaving people alone to decide these tough issues for themselves. But as their *personal* views gained wider acceptance, they have succumbed to the urge to impose their *personal* views on everyone - because if one can't get an abortion or gay marriage *everywhere* that isn't "fair". And they've had success in the Supreme Court (up until *this* court) in obtaining 14th Amendment protection for anything they construed a *right*, whether or not the constitution has any say in the matter. Among the modern "liberals" (really that term is so inapt) nobody should be able to live in a community that doesn't reflect their *personal* views on everything - there's no escape. The Tenth Amendment is inoperative as we must all live in a uniform state of laws dictated by a central government. Pretty much exactly the way conservatives used to think before legends like WF Buckley came along.
My concern at this juncture is that "liberals" won't accept the beats-down they have coming with the Supreme Court as the conservatives largely have. My concern is that, having enjoyed previous success bypassing the constitution for so long and now having a taste of dictatorial power, they'll deem the constitution inoperative wholesale. It's not far-fetched, considering the rhetoric describing the Court as "illegitimate" and "democracy" being the governing force of our republic. This is a path the conservatives never went down.
Spot. On!
“Many, myself included, have preached federalism as the best way for Leftists to achieve their grand visions and reshape the societies in which they live. Make your own locality as you wish, subject as I mentioned before to the strictures and protections of the Constitution and especially the Bill of Rights. It'd be a whole lot easier than trying to press Red America through their Play Doh Fun Factories, and they'd achieve SO many more of their goals.”
It used to be (fairly long ago) the "conservative" mindset believed (for example) if we choose to ban alcohol sales on Sunday (or strip clubs or whatever) locally, it should be banned everywhere, because that's the only way to prevent people from crossing county or state lines and abrogating our rules. I think the conservatives largely learned their lesson and have since ceased trying to impose their morality on everybody else. Abortion is an obvious exception - but then they argue (with sincere justification) abortion affects another life. Conservatives have largely - mostly - allowed for other communities to decide among themselves divisive issues like gay marriage. Of course, not every "conservative" thinks the way I do, but this has been my observation. Conservatives, through decades of beat-down and loss, have accepted that people have the right to live in the community of their desire. We're far more libertarian-friendly today and we see that reflected in many (most) of the leading voices on the right.
It also used to be (long ago it seems) that "the Left" advocated for a "live and let live" mindset, leaving people alone to decide these tough issues for themselves. But as their *personal* views gained wider acceptance, they have succumbed to the urge to impose their *personal* views on everyone - because if one can't get an abortion or gay marriage *everywhere* that isn't "fair". And they've had success in the Supreme Court (up until *this* court) in obtaining 14th Amendment protection for anything they construed a *right*, whether or not the constitution has any say in the matter. Among the modern "liberals" (really that term is so inapt) nobody should be able to live in a community that doesn't reflect their *personal* views on everything - there's no escape. The Tenth Amendment is inoperative as we must all live in a uniform state of laws dictated by a central government. Pretty much exactly the way conservatives used to think before legends like WF Buckley came along.
My concern at this juncture is that "liberals" won't accept the beats-down they have coming with the Supreme Court as the conservatives largely have. My concern is that, having enjoyed previous success bypassing the constitution for so long and now having a taste of dictatorial power, they'll deem the constitution inoperative wholesale. It's not far-fetched, considering the rhetoric describing the Court as "illegitimate" and "democracy" being the governing force of our republic. This is a path the conservatives never went down.