Republicans traditionally argue for small government. Democrats & other non-affiliated or 3rd party affiliated people might argue that the republican arguments for small government were a facade, but it was at least the “official” position. Trump isn’t making any pretence anymore, even talking about nationalizing elections.

One talking point that I always though showed the way allot of people the American left didn’t understand the way their opponents saw federalism was in the way they talked about Romneycare. I’m not saying I was a fan of the idea, or that Romneycare was a good solution, but I saw people arguing all the time that he’d “changed his position” because he didn’t endorse doing on a federal level what he wanted to do on a state level. It was as if people would just take for granted that anything you’d do on a smaller level, you’d do on a larger level if you had the power.