Sometimes Republicans in Congress do things that are so insane, it’s hard to know where to begin a sincere criticism.
It’s no secret that the House GOP doesn’t care much for the principle of church-state separation. When federal appeals courts issued rulings against “under God” in the Pledge of Allegiance and against a two-ton Ten Commandments display in Alabama, Republicans predictably railed against the decisions.
Putting aside for a moment the merits of these cases and the value of the GOP’s criticisms, a basic understanding of American government tells us that Congress has limited options when the federal courts issue unpopular rulings. Congress can pass a constitutional amendment, which is pretty difficult; they can stack the courts with reactionary ideologues who will eventually help overturn these rulings; or they can whine about it.
House Republicans have thought of a new alternative. They want to pass laws to block enforcement of the rulings they disagree with.
According to an article in today’s Washington Times, an ultra-conservative newspaper in DC, the House voted last week to “stop enforcement” of court rulings on the Pledge and Roy Moore’s religious monument in Alabama.
The article explained, “The U.S. Marshals Service would not be allowed to enforce those two decisions, under amendments that were passed as part of the House’s spending bill for the Commerce, Justice and State departments.”
This has to win the award for the dumbest thing Republicans have done this year, and considering the fact that Congress has been relatively busy the last few months, that’s not a conclusion I arrive at easily.
Separation of powers is a bedrock principle of American government. The Judiciary is a separate and co-equal branch. Congress does not have the ability to simply pass a law to nullify federal court rulings with which they disagree. This is Civics 101.
Apparently, however, House Republicans not only think they have the authority, they intend to use it with increasing frequency.
The Times explained that House Majority Leader Tom DeLay (R-Texas), Steve Chabot (R-Ohio), and Lamar Smith (R-Texas) have created a “working group” that will work exclusively on this issue and “once and for all reassert responsibility and authority of Congress, and remind the judiciary of who they are.”
To describe this as radical would be an understatement. This attack on our courts is without precedent. The House Republicans, I’m left to conclude, have truly lost their minds.
And when it comes to the Alabama Commandments display, it raises the specter of a bizarre potential crisis. Moore hasn’t said if he’ll abide by the federal courts’ ruling on this case. If Moore loses on appeal, and then refuses to follow a court order, it would be up to the federal government to enforce the rule of law. The House has endorsed a measure that says the law should not be enforced in this case, because, well, they think the federal courts are wrong.
Granted, this is a far-fetched scenario. The House still needs the Senate to agree to this provision before it became “law,” and even if passed, there’d still be serious questions as to whether a congressional effort to undermine federal court rulings has any validity.
But on principle, this remains nothing short of shocking. The House’s approach is literally dangerous and an affront to our constitutional system. The Republicans have essentially announced, without hesitation or fear of embarrassment, that the rule of law has no meaning to them.
I bet Richard Nixon could never imagine the day when Democrats would become the party of law and order.