Hearing the news that the Trump administration wants to prevent California from enacting stricter environmental rules than the Federal Government reminded me of a couple of things: First, the fans of states' rights seem to abandon their firmly held belief if a state does anything that might benefit its inhabitants. States' rights are reserved, apparently, for states that want to do less for their people than the Feds want them to.
Second, notice how quickly Republicans jettison their own deeply held principles as soon as they prove inconvenient, or as soon as Democrats say they're a good idea. (This was especially true under Obama. Note that his nomination of Merrick Garland, who Orrin Hatch had previously said was just a peachy choice, made Garland suddenly unacceptable.) Frankly, the Republicans don't care whether a given policy is beneficial or harmful; their actions seem to be driven by a desire to stick it to the Democrats whenever they can.
The United States has lived under the protection of New Deal-type laws since the 1930s, and the Republicans just can't stand it. In addition, ever since the impeachment of Richard Nixon, the Republicans have been obsessed with revenge, using any excuse to even the score by impeaching a Democratic president. It still rankles.
It seems to me that the Republican rush to roll back any government program that smells of the New Deal, no matter how successful or popular is motivated by spite.
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