“States’ rights” was by and large an excuse for states to marginalize and oppress their minorities without interference from the Federal Government. (The Federal Government is usually the last line of defense a minority has against the state’s oppression.)

There’s a book that makes an incredibly compelling case called Freedom’s Dominion, highly recommended.

Now when I hear “states’ rights” I complete the thought with, “…to do bad things to people we don’t really like”

You might be overthinking it. Republicans support "states rights" only for red states and when they don't have control of all three branches of the federal government.

Sure… but your point could neatly support my hypothesis, so I’m not sure I understand the distinction.

Republicans don’t need to crow about states’ rights right now because they have an even bigger stick with which to oppress minorities.

Try to actually listen to what Republicans are saying, and it won't be surprising anymore.

Or ignore everything they say and watch what they do.

Isn’t the problem that Trump is now doing what he promised? He campaigned on tariffs and deportations (and a decade ago, building a White House ballroom).

Do they ever make a coherent and consistent argument?

when what republicans say align with what they do, I might pay more attention to what they say. so far listening to any of these republicans talk is like listening to an abusive gaslighter on ketamine.

It was never about state rights. It’s always been about power and control. Trump is the true face of the Republican party that’s finally come out. He’s not implementing the policies they want, but they wanted someone like him.

The ultimate goal of Christian nationalists (a large part of the Republican Party) is to turn the United States into a single-party theocracy and implement their version of Sharira law. They probably don’t fully realize this is what they’re doing.

A bit of history: "States' Rights" advocates specifically were advocating "States' rights to enforce chattel slavery". The Fugitive Slave Act is a wild usurpation of States' Rights, but the slavers (who have become the modern Repulican party) didn't mind.

"They delight in acting in bad faith, since they seek not to persuade by sound argument but to intimidate and disconcert. If you press them too closely, they will abruptly fall silent, loftily indicating by some phrase that the time for argument is past."

What is the quote from?

Jean-Paul Sartre

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Anti-Semite_and_Jew

Both parties are globalist TBH. I used to vote Repub but got out 15 years ago, disillusioned by the unapologetic hypocrisy. Would love to see a God-fearing minarchist or libertarian succeed but I know that’s not realistic.

Wait. Aren't the libertarians pretty much for global free trade and unlimited immigration? I'm sensing some cognitive dissonance here.

I believe we have different definitions of “globalist.” The dictionary says:

glob·al·ist /ˈɡlōbəlist/ noun 1.) a person who advocates the administering or planning of a political strategy, economic system, etc. on a global rather than a national basis.

“[Right-libertarian populists] are unapologetically anti-globalist while at the same championing free trade and a realist foreign policy.”[1]

Both parties have furthered the advancement of global rule, one world government, top-down planning. In different ways, to be sure. Repubs for example voted in JD Vance, a man who was led by Peter Thiel, who as you know is advancing the surveillance state with Palantir. Peter made him who he is, and certainly has his ear. And Dems marched in lock-step with other globalists around the world in 2021-2024.

Global free trade, where individuals and not politicians decide who to trade with, as I understand it, is the _opposite_ of the dictionary’s definition of globalism. It is the smaller government that Republicans ostensibly stand for and then don’t provide.

Get government out of the way and let people be people.

[1] https://www.populismstudies.org/Vocabulary/right-libertarian...

Power and control over our own Country. No more wives and daughters raped and murdered by illegal aliens. No more flushing foreigners with our own money, when our own families need it.

Let other countries take care of their own, until the US can safeguard its own.

> No more flushing foreigners with our own money, when our own families need it.

But $40 billion to Argentina and whatever Israel wants

I don't think the voters asked for either of those things. It is unfortunate

They did vote for the clown who did it, though, motivated by the kind of nationalist fears that make aiding Argentina look nonsensical.

Your wives and daughters are far more likely to be raped or murdered by native born Americans than immigrants.

Statistically obvious. But adding insult to injury is a hard no go for half the country.

I'm just gonna leave this reply here: whoever is for allowing uncontrolled immigration which has already resulted in the deaths and suffering of tens of thousands of Americans, is my enemy, and enemy of half the country. Downvote me all you want, because that's your job at this point. We'll meet at the ballot, hopefully never in the field.

nit: tenet

It’s a cult. It won’t go away until its leader does.

What are you actually saying here?

That Trump is a cult leader and his followers are the cult followers? And that the following won't go away if the leader doesn't go?

Now is a transition period - the goal of the cult is to survive with a new leader. After his death, you will hear things like "must not let Trump down" and "We must not fail Trump" and so on. "Only person X can achieve Trumps original vision."

Who is that leader, though? Is it Trump, Miller or Thiel?

Republicans were always the party of big government.

“States rights” has always been a dog whistle for slavery and Jim Crow, with no connection to the ideal of Liberty that the words imply. It means “my right to deprive others of their rights.”

For the GOP states rights are just "when we say so" any other states rights are not allowed.

The issue is with taking anything they say at face value. They don't believe in anything, except what is convenient in the moment and would grant them more power and wealth. Now that they own the White House, Congress and SCOTUS, they are very much federalists and will seek to impose their views on the entire country. Simple, really.

They brandish the "don't tread on me flag" while cheering on Trump sending the national guard to blue cities (when the most violent cities in America are all red). They are supposedly against handouts, but watch Trump bail out the farmers and none of MAGA have anything to say about it. Because a majority of farmers vote red.

They wouldn't have any issue with actual socialism, as long as it only benefitted republican voters.