Dark Days for America

By E. J. LudwigThis book is excellent. He uses the word "Statist" to describe the opponent of the Conservative. For many reasons this is better than using fascist, liberal fascist, leftist, liberal, Socialist, or Communist. Although I still reserve the right to use "Neo-Marxist" I think "Statist" is an apt term that puts the focus where it ought to be. He always uses originalist instead of "strict constructionist" which I think points to the importance of keeping an historical perspective when talking about Constitutional interpretive positions. His case for the shift away from federalism is pretty compelling, and I finished the book believing that now "states rights" is pretty much moot. When I observed a few years ago that there was almost no opposition to No Child Left Behind despite the 10th Amendment locating control over education in the states, I began to see that federalism was pretty much over. M. Levin's book confirms this, as he describes the states now as pretty much appendages of the Federal Government. Having proved this conclusively, I don't see how at the end of the book he can call for the abolition of the U.S. Department of Education. That was a great issue fifteen years ago, but how can it be applicable today if what he says in other parts of the book are true?
I came away from the book feeling pessimistic about Conservative causes. He marshals so much evidence of the march of Statism that one feels that Conservatism has been pretty much steam-rolled over the past 100 years, R. Reagan notwithstanding.
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