But the tide might be turning back to the cities' favor.

After the election of Donald Trump in November 2016, there was a wave of bad behavior by his supporters. Hate crimes spiked. The Federal government threatened states. And some states punished their cities, the largest of which voted for Hillary Clinton.

This conflict is about raw political power, and I'm afraid that cities are at a huge disadvantage in any conflict with the state. Legal precedents all give enormous deference to the state, holding that cities, towns, counties and all other local jurisdictions are under sovereign state authority. If Texas wanted to abolish the charters of local government and designate them differently, increase or decrease their powers, they can, and there's little the local areas can do about it. When a cult like the Texas Republican Party gains unchecked power, it will use it to crush local opposition. The same pattern is being replicated almost everywhere in states with Republican governors and legislatures. Elections, as they say, have consequences.

Interestingly, the onslaught against the cities might have been slowed down thanks in part to Trump not being able to get his administration to focus on any one issue for long. And the Trump backlash has been in-gear since Roy Moore was upset in Alabama in December 2017. The aforementioned Texas Republican Party's unshakable hold on power is suddenly under threat.