With some exceptions, Federal powers increased because we couldn't agree that human beings are not property, among other basic rights issues. The touchstone moments were not simple disagreements on policy, it was the pot boiling over into extreme violence. Even the Federal model requires some basic level setting for it to function. There's either a rebalancing or the whole thing falls apart.

Regardless, GP's points are notable just a local level. States have different weights assigned to executive and legislative. It appears that Arizona leans heavily towards a strong executive branch although I have to wonder if any laws were broken here. People expect corruption in US politics at this point but this incident has some staying power in the news.