patrick.net

Recently at the DMV, I was asked if I wanted a REAL ID. The lady behind the counter said I was “free” to get a non-REAL ID driver’s license, of course—but then I’d need to carry a passport just to board a domestic flight.

So I asked her, “Aren’t there states that are objecting to this? What happened to the ones that resisted?”

She replied, “All states have complied. Because otherwise the folks in those states wouldn’t be allowed in federal buildings or on commercial flights.”

Now, I won’t get into all the technical reasons why a passport is different from a REAL ID here. But I’ll tell you what hit me hard after that conversation: we don’t really have a 10th Amendment anymore.

Let’s not sugarcoat it. The federal government is bypassing the Constitution
Not just a little bit. Not in secret. They're doing it boldly, systematically, and openly—right in front of us. And they’re using your own state as the tool to do it.

The founding fathers intended every state to be sovereign and be able to rise or fail on their own merits. They feared the tyranny of the Crown that they had left. It’s a very valid fear. They no more wanted a King George than they wanted a King Washington DC. Remember the Who song? Meet the new boss, same as the old boss. “Won’t Get Fooled Again.”

The 10th Amendment is supposed to protect states from federal overreach. It says,

“"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."

That means Washington, D.C. doesn’t get to run your schools, your highways, your IDs, or your energy policy unless the Constitution clearly says so.

But that’s not how it works anymore. Because the federal government found a workaround: coercion disguised as cooperation.

How the Federal Government Bypasses the 10th Amendment

Instead of passing laws that the Constitution won’t allow, the feds say:

“Want your citizens to fly? Then you better adopt REAL ID.”

“Want highway funds? Raise the drinking age.”

“Want disaster relief? Prove your climate plan lines up with ours.”

“Want school funding? Teach our DEI, transgender curriculum.”

This isn’t negotiation. It’s blackmail.

They’re not forcing states to obey—they’re manipulating states to enforce federal policy by threatening the people’s access to essential services.

That is not federalism. That is tyranny with a polite face.

The founding fathers intended every state to be sovereign and be able to rise or fail on their own merits.