Republicans Trying to Preserve Their Power Are Resorting to a Desperate New Strategy: Judicial Branch Coups @alternet:
"There’s a larger pattern here that can also be seen in the attacks on law enforcement and the legal process in Washington by President Trump and his loyalists in Congress, who continue to impugn the ongoing investigation by special counsel Robert Mueller into the Trump campaign’s collusion with Russia. Constitutional boundaries long considered red lines not to be crossed—because they relate to the separation of powers, and governing checks and balances—are being breached. What’s emerging is a growing wave of attacks on the judiciary by hyper-partisan Republicans who feel the courts are impeding their power and agenda. The first signs of this dynamic may have been the refusal by U.S. Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell to consider President Obama’s final Supreme Court nominee, Merrick Garland, during Obama’s last year in office. The latest drama to feature the prospect of a judicial coup—removing five of seven state Supreme Court justices—is in Pennsylvania. This is the only state in 2018 where court rulings on extreme Republican-led gerrymandering are poised to see new U.S. House districts created that would lead to fairer elections—and likely Democratic pickup of several seats. Last month was North Carolina. This month it’s Pennsylvania. Where the next GOP attack on the judiciary will come is an open question. But you can be sure it will come. When a political party is cornered and feeling desperate, it will resort to desperate measures like judicial coups."
