Republicans trying to undermine courts

Republicans in the Montana Legislature can’t seem to figure out whether they want to give legislative power away or try to grab more of it. The only consistent thing about their behavior in past weeks is their desire to advance their partisan goals at the expense of Montana’s Constitution and our rights and freedoms. 

After the governor tried to use a loophole to deny the Legislature its right to override vetoes, the Montana Supreme Court backed the Legislature and ordered that legislators be polled. Strangely, Republican leaders in the Legislature cried foul and claimed the courts had overreached, and as a result, Republican legislators would not support a veto. The override vote failed.   

Since when is it judicial overreach to affirm the constitutional rights of the legislative branch? The power to override vetoes is constitutionally guaranteed to the legislative branch, and it is the most effective check we have against a governor’s overreach. Republicans, however, immediately tried to surrender this right when it became politically problematic for Gov. Greg Gianforte.