Discussing "all politics is local"

 A phrase a lot of liberals like to push is this weird idea that all politics is local. And I kinda feel like it has some validity, but it also tends to miss the point sometimes. The reason a lot of liberals are so interested in the federal government is because only the federal government is powerful enough to resolve the economic issues plaguing the modern economy. 

I mean, the federal/antifederal debate has been a thing since the start of the country. Our first parties were the federalists and the anti federalists, and I tend to lean strongly toward the federalist side of that debate. State governments come off as weak, unable to cause real widespread change, and most calls for states rights are for right wingers to push their horrid regressive agendas. Slavery has been a "states rights" issue. As has jim crow. And abortion now. And gay marriage, and the ACA. And it seems around every corner some right winger wants to use state government to defy peoples' constitutional rights.

I see American history as the federal government often dragging the states into modernity. While states are occasionally on the right side of issues the federal government is wrong about (see: drug legalization, sometimes abortion post roe), generally, the feds are right and the states are wrong. 

So when the center left starts telling us to focus on lower offices, it just doesnt resonate. What is a city mayor supposed to do? I mean for reference my city is poor, they're mostly interested in increasing revenue so they focus on the downtown area and trying to attract business into the area to "create jobs", and the residents are ignored and face rather high property taxes to pay for a floundering public school system. I understand these issues are serious, systemic, and can only be resolved with the help of the federal government. I support action via the federal government to act as a game changer here. My ideas would solve poverty within the 50 states and US territories. It would resolve the issue of some areas in america being insanely rich and others poor. The issue that some areas are full of "opportunity" and others are not. Yeah, I guess all politics is local in the sense that where someone is from influences their positions, but the idea that we need some local politician to work their way up to the federal level is just dishonest. Heck if anything that model is why the dems are so ineffective. Because you got these former governors and representatives running for president and congress and having next to no freaking vision because their idea of being an effective executive is game playing with each other to make superficial changes that they then pat each other on the backs about, all while the real issues go ignored and largely unaddressed.

And this is why a lot of the less productive areas struggling in the midwest and rust belt are leaning toward populism. They understand this "within the beltway" mentality of insiders isnt doing anything to resolve the issues, and we need outsiders with a different perspective to solve issues. 

Unfortunately, because the left is leaning so hard into institutionalism and crushing their own outsider candidates before they get anywhere, we get these right wing populist nutcases like trump and ramaswamy, who offer no real solutions because right wing dont really know what they want. Theyre like an angry beast thrashing in the dark, and instead of progress, we get something resembling a modern form of fascism. 

Real solutions come from the left, from a movement that utilizes the federal government to make the real economic changes we need to make. Even in these groups, we dont always agree. Take note of the difference between traditional leftists who want a jobs program and a green new deal and myself who want a UBI. But the productive range of solutions to modern issues come from these variations of left wingers. We need some sort of massive utilization of economic resources not seen since the days of FDR in order to achieve actual solutions. As such, only left wing populists are worth listening to, not right wing ones. The right is against using these resources fundamentally. What does trump practically offer people? Protectionism and tariffs? Deporting immigrants? Please. We need a UBI, we need medicare for all, free college, student debt forgiveness, a climate/infrastructure plan, more housing, etc. That's how we solve issues. 

And yes, my opinions are formulated based on the local conditions I face, but such is the sociological imagination, linking individual issues to the systems at large. But the system can only be improved from the top down. So my politics take a federalist approach in which I move the resources of the united states on a large scale to achieve the changes I want. 

As such, Im not sure what liberals are trying to get at in lecturing me on this topic as it does not connect to me logically. I mean I kinda get it, but let's call it what it is. It's distracting people from the issues at hand and much like hillary clinton telling people to "run for office" despite those lower offices not being in any position to solve the issues, only to be part of the problem.