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werdnak84 t1_jdsvh35 wrote

Reply to comment by wabashcanonball in DA Alvin Bragg’s staffer hangs up on ‘bulls–t’ congressional phone call by Gaytaino

which actually makes no sense. Why label states as sovereign entities and yet still have a federal government!?!?

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wabashcanonball t1_jdswa66 wrote

From the U.S. Constitution: “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 to the people.”

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casanovaelrey t1_jdt1430 wrote

Simply put it was because the colonies were separate entities that banded together to form a country and the southern colonies preferred a confederation similar to how the colonies were rather than a federalized country. The northern colonies preferred a federalized country, mostly.

They tried the confederacy for about 10 years and it didn't work so they created the Constitution and a federal republic. The South has ever since been trying to create a confederacy once through war and now through laws weakening the federal government. The Constitution is a compromise of those ideals.

I personally think the Federal government should have the majority of the power that they then devolve to states. Being that I'm a non-white person, historically that makes sense, since state's rights have almost always been the antithesis to civil rights and it's been in the federal government's interest most of the time to, at least nominally, promote equal civil rights..

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werdnak84 t1_jdt21bq wrote

Well the South lost. They need to get over it.

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casanovaelrey t1_jdt6036 wrote

No. Don't get me. Fuck the confederates. Fuck the "state's rights" crowd. You're ABSOLUTELY right.

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NotAnnieBot t1_jdt2vr5 wrote

Because they are ‘sovereign’ in so far as the powers that are not delegated to the federal government in the constitution. That’s why they are sovereign states and not nations.

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unndunn t1_jdv8un6 wrote

Simply put, because the federal government’s power comes from how it allocates money, not from any document that actually gives it power.

The federal government is responsible for a) foreign relations (including national defense), b) handling interstate disputes (including interstate crimes) and c) implementing a national budget. There are a few other things it does, but those are the big three.

Of course, the last one allows it to say things like “pass this law to let us handle xyz or you get no money for it”, and most of the time, states will pass the law, as long as it’s for fundamental shit like roads, bridges, hospitals, food safety, etc. But for things like prosecuting crimes within a single state (which this is), the feds can’t do shit.

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