If John McCain was president, Republicans would be defending the continued expansion of TARP and supporting the current increase in federal power:
TEXAS GOV. BACK RESOLUTION AFFIRMING SOVEREIGNTY
AUSTIN – Gov. Rick Perry joined state Rep. Brandon Creighton and sponsors of House Concurrent Resolution (HCR) 50 in support of states’ rights under the 10th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution.
Rick Perry is no libertarian and he isn’t much of a conservative either. Like all politicians, he’s an ambitious narcissist who wouldn’t dare to cross a Republican White House or a Republican Congress. But, with Republicans on the outs across the board, there’s no motivation nor is there even much ability for the state elite to rein in the party base’s fury with Washington. The best they can to is hop on the bandwagon and hope to wrest control away from leaders less enamored with the status quo.
Remember, economic downturns tend to be devolutionary, so the worse things get, the more likely it is that more US states will assert their sovereignty and reject federal mandates. And since Obama is utterly inexperienced, it’s not impossible that he’d make a massive mistake that would provoke a state government into open revolt. That could be particularly inflammatory if it happens after a substantial commitment of US forces to Pakistan. With one of the oldest governments in the world and a debt that is 350 percent of GDP, I suspect Washington is closer to collapse than anyone currently imagines. The states aren’t exerting their rightful sovereignty for the fun of it, they’re doing it because they know the federal government can’t afford to do anything about it.
Since Obama is dumb enough to launch a push for immigration amnesty during a period of high unemployment, it’s remotely possible that he might be dumb enough to try seizing guns during a period of mass protest.