We were asked why we commented on the Nikki Haley answer about the Civil war given that she’s not in Congress, which is fair. The answer is that a) the “states’ rights” response inevitably leaves off what it is the states’ were claiming they had the right to do and b) that states’ rights are still invoked on a regular basis, both in legislation and in jurisprudence on legislation to allow states to, for example, alter voting maps in ways that disproportionately harm some voters more than others.