And now, we have the ultimate assault on the third branch of government\u2014the judiciary. Current tactics go far beyond the now quaint practice of slow-walking approvals of federal judges. We are now at DefCon 1\u2014a total stonewalling of appointments to the Supreme Court. Who would ever have thought that, after the death of a Supreme Court Justice, the Senate would refuse even to hold a hearing on a nominee? Even worse, Republican leaders in the Senate now have vowed to reject anyone nominated to the US Supreme Court by a Democrat. This behavior makes you wonder if Republicans simply want to let the Supreme Court die by attrition, because they don\u2019t like some of its recent decisions.<\/p>\n

But Republicans are not limiting their attack to the three basic branches of our federal government. They are now engaged in a full-frontal assault on the Bill of Rights [except, of course, for the 2^{nd<\/sup> Amendment.] Here are just a few examples:<\/p>\n}

Delegitimizing the Presidential election<\/h3>\n

The most recent example came when Presidential candidate Donald Trump made the shocking, unprecedented assertion that he would not necessarily accept the results of the 2016 Presidential election. That statement elicited gasps, even from Republicans, who immediately understood the democracy-destroying effect such a stance would have. American democracy has prided itself, for its 240-year history, on the peaceful transfer of power. When Donald Trump calls the election system \u201crigged,\u201d and encourages his followers to reject the results, we are in serious trouble. Of course, Trump\u2019s irresponsible statement did not come out of the blue. It merely represents the culmination of many years of Republican propaganda about voter fraud, which have planted seeds of doubt in the minds of many. If our election system loses the trust of the people, we have begun the descent into anarchy.<\/p>\n