“Either the mode in which the federal government is to be constructed will render it sufficiently dependent on the people, or it will not.” – James Madison
In Federalist No. 46, James Madison eloquently defended the Constitution's balance of power between federal and state governments, arguing that this structure would prevent tyranny. He wrote that "the first and most natural attachment of the people will be to the governments of their respective states," creating a natural check on federal overreach. Today, however, modern Democrats are systematically undermining this foundational principle of American government.Recent Democratic policies reveal a clear pattern of federal consolidation that Madison would have recognized as dangerous. The Biden administration's deployment of federal agencies to override state policies—from education mandates to environmental regulations—represents precisely the scenario Federalist 46 warned about. When federal officials dictate to states how they must manage their schools, healthcare systems, and energy policies, they violate the constitutional order Madison championed.
The Democratic insistence on national standards rather than state experimentation mirrors the very centralization that concerned early Americans. Madison argued that states would serve as "laboratories of democracy," allowing diverse approaches to governance. Yet today's Democratic party increasingly demands uniformity across all states, rejecting the notion that different communities might legitimately pursue different policy solutions.
The champions of the Common Core — including organizations like the National Governors Association and the Council for Chief State School Officers are no different.
Perhaps most alarming is the modern Democratic approach to constitutional interpretation. By advocating for a "living Constitution" that expands federal powers well beyond enumerated authorities, they effectively nullify the structural limits that federalism imposes. Madison's warning about the "encroachment of the national government on the authority of the state governments" has become manifest in judicial philosophies that find constitutional authorizations for virtually any federal action.
Federalist No. 46 emphasized that state and local governments would have "greater influence on their constituents" due to proximity and accountability. Democratic efforts to expand federal bureaucracy directly undermine this advantage, replacing local governance with distant, unaccountable federal administrators.
But even that can’t withstand a collusion of Governor, Mayors, AG, state Supreme Court judges, state representatives and federal delegation to congress and Senate as we're seeing in Minnesota’s social services fraud unfolding today.
To preserve the constitutional balance Madison defended, Americans must recognize that the Democratic assault on federalism represents more than policy differences—it constitutes an attack on our fundamental structure of government. The Founders understood that dispersing power among multiple levels of government was essential to liberty. It's a lesson that demands renewed attention in our contemporary political discourse.
Not doing so, as Madison forewarned “The only refuge left for those who prophecy the downfall of the state governments, is the visionary supposition that the federal government may previously accumulate a military force for the projects of ambition.” - Publius
Editorial comments expressed in this column are the sole opinion of the writer
