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What we're seeing is a case for a traditional conservative plank: reduce the scope of the federal government and give more power to the states, reserving the power of federal law to ensure that the states' laws meet some certain minimum criteria, such as fairness and justness.

Modern radical conservatives on the other hand no longer hold this plank as central to the concept of being conservative. Both parties want to use the power of the federal government to further their own ends; the Republicans may SAY they support states' rights but they're perfectly happy to rally for laws -- or even constitutional amendments -- that would prohibit the states from making their own decisions on such matters as marriage and drugs.