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So far, the Republicans see no real downside to picking on the third branch of government. "Some of these rulings have inflamed mainstream America," says Clint Bolick of the conservative Institute for Justice. "So when the G.O.P. elevates this issue, it is seen as a winner."
It's ironic that these fusillades should be coming now, when even activists like Bolick concede that Clinton's nominees have been mostly moderate, and liberals are moaning that the President hasn't done enough to counteract the effect of 12 straight years of Republican court choices. But what it adds up to is "probably the most intense attack on the judiciary as an institution ever," says Robert Katzmann, a lawyer and political scientist who has written a book on Congress and the courts. "The framers of the Constitution tried to create a system in which judges would feel insulated from political retribution. That's being undermined."
--With reporting by John F. Dickerson/Washington