[SteamShovel]

If we return to greater independence of states and less top-down federal control, so much the better

I agree that less "top down control" is desireable. But....

Separate states without a Federal Union means we are easy pickins to foreign aggressors like Russia.

We need to preserve the Union for strategic reasons.

[joeu01]

The nub of the matter is whether the Union is worth preserving. Stategically, yes, the Union is necessary but not at the current cost.