A Baker’s Dozen (TM) Ways to get rid of the States (or some of them)

You may have seen some of the current clickbait, telling you “These ten states will be empty by 2025” or “Everyone leaving these states” only to find out (again) that the click-bait headlines are never truthful, accurate, or really reflect the contents of the story. Whether in print or online.

But…

We find many different groups (not just the Woke and radical democrats) that want to get rid of the States and create a unitary government for America.

The WaPo had a “Theory” editorial a few years back proposing just that: States are a relic of the past and it is time to get rid of them. If The Donald wins in November, that will no doubt pop up again: that was what triggered the 2017 tirade. The writer and editors just knew that The Donald would abolish democracy and the Constitution and make himself president for life. Others before and after have explained how bad federalism, the Federal States, and our present system of government are. And how we need to get ride of some or all of those “middle management” governments.

1. Vote them out of existence – Supposedly “democracy” would allow a nation-wide (that is, all 50 States and possessions) up or down vote on a referendum to eliminate the States. Right?
2. Trash the Constitution – while the above vote would be the same thing, this could be done by a powerful tyrant or a revolutionary government: “NULL AND VOID” provided they had the weapons to enforce the trashing.
3. Cast a blind eye on invasion and conquest by another State – yes, Article IV Section 4 says the United States “shall protect each of them against invasion” (see the end note) but we know this is in essence ignored because of the definition of “invasion,” and it can be argued that this refers to foreign invasion and not, say, Illinois invading Indiana, or Massachusetts invading Rhode Island.
4. Cast a blind eye on a revolution and overthrow of the State government by a cabal or revolutionary movement – again, Article IV Section 4 says the United States shall protect a state “against domestic violence” and “guarantee… a republican form of government” but that is so, so political. And un-democratic! And remember, a revolutionary cabal is the vanguard of the people: democratic!
5. Take over all the States’ land – make it all federal land in a State – nothing in the Constitution prohibits that and the FedGov buys tens of thousands of acres of private land every year. Just print more phony money and put the pressure on!
6. Nuke it ’til it glows – hey, nuclear bombardment is not an invasion, is it? Especially not when it your own federal government’s Navy or Air or Space Force does it. Of course, the Feds would not want to do this to too many States: but we betcha only a couple would have to be made examples and the rest would fall in line. (At least the idiots who run things in DC might believe that.)
7. Overwhelm it with migrants – both internal and external: use them to take over the State and then pay them off to vote it out of existence. (Oh dear, maybe this is already happening?)
8. Outlaw the State or its government(s) and people (de jure or de facto by putting court-appointed managers in control). After all, it has worked with school systems and colleges and local governments and industries. It could easily be excused to do it to a State that has an enormous debt or other problems, and claim it was necessary to restore public order and a republican form of government.
9. Outlaw the key features/elements of the State’s economy: prohibiting coal mining or producing oil and gas could easily trigger massive problems in many States. Or cattle ranching – after all it for the good of people since eating meat is bad for you. And there you go: get enough of the legislature or put enough pressure on the State’s executive and voila: “we’re here to help you restore order!”
10. Declare that a State’s government does not have a “republican form of government” and “reconstruct” it – admittedly, this features in several of the above options, but perhaps Congress could go straight to this – or just have the Prez do it by an “executive order.” There are several versions of this:
    • Promote violence to skyhigh levels in a State and then occupy it to restore order
    • Bankrupt the State in the courts and then occupy it to restore order
11. Force more and more regulations down a State’s throat until it collapses under the weight – just like businesses.
12. Tax it out of existence – again, just like businesses. For example, shift all highway funds and Federal welfare funds to some other part of the budget, and raise the taxes at the same time!
13. Be sneaky and do lots of the above, just a little of each, while pretending the State or States still exist – but gradually absorb more and more of the so-called legitimate functions of State government into the federal bureaucracy. Oh, no, again, maybe that is already happening.

Remember that like small corporations, small States (population-wise) are a pain in the neck to the FedGov. They can’t play the game well, and don’t have the resources valuable enough to truly loot. And compared to the might of the FedGov, even states like California or Illinois are “small states.”

Afterword: US Constitution. Article IV Section 4. The United States shall guarantee to every state in this union a republican form of government, and shall protect each of them against invasion; and on application of the legislature, or of the executive (when the legislature cannot be convened) against domestic violence.

NOT a democratic form of government. NOT a smart form of government. And not even a loyal form of government.

Mmm. Could we argue that Honest Abe and the Radical Republicans violated this provision from about 1861 to 1877? After all, as I understand history used to teach, all of the seceding States either had a public vote of the people or had a special convention with delegates elected by a public vote of the people. And they all voted for secession! So not only did the FedGov’s refusal to accept their votes and leave them alone, but they also disrupted normal processes of republican government. Oh, and just who invaded southern States like Virginia and Tennessee and Louisiana? Exactly how did DC protect those 11 States “against invasion” anyway?

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