Can Federalism save the Republican Party – “unify” the country?

One blogger thinks so.  Given the divisions in the country – this blogger has a good point:

Our Founding Fathers understood one truth about political philosophy: To find common ground is sometimes impossible.  When disagreement between political opponents rests on fundamental ideological principles, one side must forfeit its core beliefs in the name of unity, or suffer defeat.  Consequently, to unify a young nation without engaging in an immediate civil war, the framers of the Constitution set up a system of Federalism that has since been abandoned by both political parties to America’s detriment.

Federalism is the system of dividing government and political power between the States and the Federal government.  This form of decentralization guaranteed by the 10th Amendment of the Constitution ensures that regardless of which ideology achieves power at the federal level, it would not be granted monopolistic tyranny over minority views. . . .

Since Ronald Reagan, the Republican Party has doubled down on remaking the federal government in its own image.  It went from a Party that advocated local control over education and accountability, to using Jimmy Carter’s Department of Education to create a “conservative” federal program called No Child Left Behind. . . .

The greatness of Federalism is that States can freely experiment with public policy without significant political difficulty.  Subsequently, if the ideas prevail, other states in the Union can mimic them.  If the ideas fail, individuals can “vote with their feet” and leave.  Conversely, if ideas crash at the federal level, our entire Country experiences a disaster . . .

Not only are there political differences between libertarians and social conservatives, but also there are cultural differences between different regions of the Country.

. . . San Francisco has few cultural similarities to Montgomery, Alabama.  This is not a moral judgment; it is just a reality that we need to accept.

The great irony is that if the Republican Party adopts Federalism as a major goal of its Party platform, it will appeal to people across the political spectrum, even some Democrats.  The reason is obvious: Federalism offers the individual more control over his or her life.  The only tradeoff is that one must allow someone from across the Country to have that same liberty. . . .

Lastly, it must be noted that the term, “States’ Rights” has a pejorative connotation gained from the era of Jim Crow Laws.  This may explain why Republicans recently have abandoned the policy for fear of being labeled a racist.  Nevertheless, fear that an ignorant few could engage in an ad hominem attack is no reason to avoid educating the masses of your true laudable intentions. . . .

In conclusion, the Republican Party has only one option to avoid being swept into the dustbin of history.  It must offer a solution to empower the masses to take control over their own lives.  For the same reasons that the Founding Fathers did in the past, the Republican Party must unite around Federalism.   Do not forget that unity via a decentralized government is why we are called the United States in the first place.