As a native New Yorker who grew up in Florida perhaps I’ve got too many dogs in this fight to be unbiased. Though, I’ve only been to Texas and California a couple of times each, so maybe that balances the scales.

Either way, as I turn 61 on Wednesday I’m witnessing two things I thought I’d never see. A Western supplied war against Russia itself, thought we’d given up on that after we sadly failed to strangle the Bolsheviks in 1918, and a polarity between different states in this nation that is so deep and powerful it has brought them to outright political conflict. This is not to mention the differences between certain states and the feds.

I’m talking about the recent words of the mayor of New York against the state of Florida regarding Florida parental rights legislation, about Texas and its snubbing of the federal government over illegal aliens, and about California’s ongoing rhetorical provocations against Florida. At this point the states and their leaders are just scoring political points. But the words underly something deeper, as the electorates in question likely back up their elected officials.

Given Gavin Newsom easily survived recall in California, given Eric Adams was elected by a more than solid margin in New York City, given Ron DeSantis is very popular in Florida, and given Greg Abbott will absolutely crush Beto O’Rourke in Texas this November, the die is being cast and the teams chosen for further conflict. Where it will eventually lead is anyone’s guess.

As for the alliances, it’s not a straight geographical or demographic breakdown. The California-New York Axis deploys on opposite sides of the nation. The Florida-Texas Alliance is just across the Gulf of Mexico from each other. All are coastal states. All have sizable minority populations. Yes, California and New York are Democrat run states and Florida and Texas are run by Republicans. But it goes farther than that.

In the acclaimed film Gettysburg the British liason officer with the South is speaking to Confederate General James Longstreet. The Brit says he’s noticed that the North and South, indeed Britain and America, share many of the same things. What sets them apart are “different dreams.” The same holds true for America today.

California and New York dream of an authoritarian socialist PC state where the public sector rules over a cowed and impoverished citizenry. It is the eternal dream of petty despots. They see the mere existence of Republican Florida and Texas as an affront to their ambitions. That’s the secret to Democrat border policies. They are all designed to flip Texas blue.

Florida and Texas revere the old Republic and the Constitution. They seek to restore the limited government envisioned by the Founders and hold off the assaults of the PC brigades within their midst. This November and in the presidential election of 2024, only one side will win. Will we be governed by the likes of Ron DeSantis or ruled by the icons of California and New York? At this point, it’s up for grabs.