I was reading This Excellent Diary by Gregory Paul (and you should really read it. It's long, but it's a brilliant essay), I had a thought. How can we use this knowledge to defeat our foes on the right?
A little information, a little philosophy, the Constitution, and the Socratic Method will leave them sputtering with exploding heads.
How does it work? First of all, establish the facts and beliefs. Start with typical "government being too big" type questions. Then move to the Constitution. Ask about the doctrine of originalism: That the Constitution and government should be exactly what it was at the time of the Founding. Go specifically into the Tenth Amendment: "Should States have more power according to the Tenth Amendment?" and things like that. Let them establish their beliefs in a small government, with all things regulated by the "several states".
Then go for the jugular:
Because according to that belief, the ENTIRE United States Armed Forces (except some of the Navy and a few Marines) should be abolished, Federal funding should be cut off, and the STATES should fund the military, because ACCORDING TO THE CONSTITUTION (in a true originalist philosophy) the Army of the United States is drawn from the Militias of the several States. The only way the army can be constructed is for the Federal Government to REQUEST that the states activate their militias. The US has NO obligation except to quarter, feed, provide ammunition, and pay the troops for ONLY the length of their call up.
From the War Powers Clause of the Constitution:
...reserving to the states respectively, the appointment of the officers, and the authority of training the militia according to the discipline prescribed by Congress;
That's it.
Congress has the power to raise an army, but it has to come from the states. There is NO specific part of the Constitution that requires the Federal Government to keep a standing armed forces. None. Even the states are responsible for the training of the OFFICERS who lead tha armed forces into battle.
Forced with an all-or-nothing decision, the walk backs will be swift and incoherent. For if they acknowledge the "unconstitutional" role of the government in maintaining armed forces, they have to acknowledge ALL the roles of government.