He earned a reputation as an outspoken liberal standard-bearer during a conservative-dominated era from the 1980s to the early 2000s.

CNN: Kennedy remembered as an advocate for all

President Barack Obama's re-election last year, while a victory for the Democrats, has made the anti-federal cause a growth industry in states dominated by conservative Republicans.

NPR: States' Rights Bills Surge In GOP States

But that failure was rooted in the fact that much of current conservative policy is broadly unpopular, a problem only compounded when the party becomes more polarized and dominated by the far-right debating society.

CNN: Jindal, courage is not enough