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. 

Separation of powers, and the checks and balances that guarantee it, are central to who we are as Montanans, and Americans. It’s tempting to just dismiss the absurdity of legislative Republicans’ argument here — that the way you protect separation of powers is by eliminating it. But this pretzel logic threatens the rights of all Montanans.  Even more threatening — Republican legislators not only giving away their power to the governor, but also attempting a power grab over the courts.    

Why do Republicans need to undermine the judicial branch? Because they keep passing unconstitutional legislation, Montanans keep challenging that unconstitutional legislation in court and the duly elected courts keep overturning bills that violate the Constitution.   

That’s checks and balances at work, plain and simple. But Republicans in the Legislature, instead of recognizing this is how our government is designed to work, have thrown a fit and made wild accusations about the courts.  

Now they’re wasting time and taxpayer dollars on a sham committee with pre-determined outcomes that will try to bring the judiciary under their personal control. For some Republican legislators that effort is not good enough and they want to waste our time and money with a special legislative session to create partisan judicial elections. 

This brazen attempt to seize power is not only outrageous, but also incredibly dangerous. If Republicans in the Legislature succeed in undermining the courts it will destroy the Constitution’s separation of powers, taking a hammer to our system of checks and balances that will weaken our democracy and threaten Montanans’ voice in their own government. 

Montanans shouldn’t get caught on their back foot laughing at such petty political nonsense. We should pay close attention to a governor who is manipulating Republican leadership in the Legislature to consolidate his power, at the expense of the rightful purpose of the Legislature to fairly represent all Montanans. 

We also should pay close attention to legislators who try to bully independently elected judges, because it does more than waste taxpayer money. If Montanans turn a blind eye to this Republican scheme, we will be left with very little say over what our government can do to us — and very few remedies to protect our rights and freedoms. 

Sen. Pat Flowers represents Gallatin County and serves as the leader of the Montana Senate Democrats.