Civil Liberties, Healthcare, Fuel State Pushback Against Federal Power

D.C. has everybody worried

Interest in challenging Washington is booming. Some of the enthusiasm can be traced to President Barack Obama's election in 2008 when worries of a "government takeover" of health care and new gun control measures first began to spread. This year, talk of new federal gun regulation has re-energized the states' rights movement across the country. Dozens of gun-related bills have been introduced this year as lawmakers point to a renewed urgency and worry of an overreaching federal government.

States' rights battles of the 1950s and 1960s focused on civil rights, and more recent efforts have been driven by the Second Amendment. Today's movement is broadening into new subjects, from drugs and health care to homeland security. As the perception of an ever-growing Washington has flourished, so has the drive to push back on more fronts and in novel ways.