The Divided States of America — Gary Sasse

The Divided States of America — Gary Sasse

 

Keynoting the 2004 Democratic National Convention, Barack Obama said, ”There is not a liberal America and a conservative America, there is just America.” It is ironic that these aspirational words do not reflect contemporary politics. Today the United States may be more culturally, economically, and politically divided than any time since the Civil War.

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Achieving a national consensus has been complicated by the extremist influence over congressional party agendas and 39 states--22 Republican and 17 Democratic-- with one party controlling the governor’s office and legislature. The result is the majority party enacting its agenda with little regard for the minority party.

William A. Galston of the Brookings Institution wrote in the Wall Street Journal, “But with today’s deep polarization, voters in the minority experience the enactment of one-party programs as an attack on their deepest convictions.”

The nation is becoming a patchwork of states governed by fundamentally different values. This is reflected in radically different approaches to green climate mandates, abortion rights, the right to bear arms, treatment of transgender youth, school choice and parental rights, law enforcement, levels of taxation, replacement of federal Covid dollars, cracking down on illegal immigration, defining equity in terms of either outcomes or opportunities, social entitlements among others.

States reflecting different approaches to governing may reflect what the Founding Fathers had in mind in creating a federal system. The Tenth Amendment to the United States Constitution states, “The powers not delegated to the United States by the Constitution, nor prohibited by it to the States, are reserved to the States respectively, or the people thereof.”

Of course, there are explicit limits on state autonomy. These include constitutionally guaranteed rights, national responsibility for foreign affairs, and regulation of interstate commerce. Also, throughout our history the Tenth Amendment has often been a political football. For example, for decades pro-lifers argued abortion policy should be left to the states. After the Supreme Court effectively ruled that abortion policy was in the preview of the states, some of these pro-life advocates called for Congress to enact a national standard.

States proactively addressing the concerns of their citizens emerges when reaching a national consensus is not achievable. Supreme Court Justice Louis D. Brandeis used the metaphor the states are the laboratories of democracy. In the case of New State Ice Co. v Liebmann (1932) Justice Brandeis eloquently wrote, “a single courageous state may, if its citizens choose, serve as a laboratory: and try novel social and economic experiments without the risk to the rest of the country.”

Tensions between constitutional constraints and states’ rights are inevitable and have been a constant in American governance. Today with a decreasing ability to act at the national level, and a more conservative Supreme Court, responsibilities are being shifted to one-party controlled state governments. The result is a jumble of state decisions on key issues affecting millions of Americans.

Enhanced state power, in part, may reflect confidence Americans have in their national leaders. According to the Real Clear Politics average of polls, only 23% of voters believe that the country is headed in the right direction. Public opinion surveys have also consistently found that many Americans do not want a Biden-Trump rematch in 2024, and recent polling data puts approval of Congress at 20%.

There is an unambiguous perception that our evenly divided national government is not providing effective leadership to work across the aisle to solve problems. A prime example, has been decades of gridlock in dealing with immigration.

As a result, a policy vacuum is being filled by proactive governors and state legislatures that reflect the concerns of their constituents. This trend can serve as a necessary pressure-relief valve to help maintain our democratic institutions.

During our 247th national birthday we should be celebrating the Founding Father’s wisdom making the fifty states laboratories of democracy. We should have confidence that voters will be able to judge the results of the conservative approach to governing in Florida versus the progressive politics of California.

 

 

Gary Sasse served as Rhode Island Director of the Departments of Administration and Revenue and executive Director of RIPEC.