Honest commentators (like Instapundit) have condemned over-the-top language from Sen. Cornyn and others who have been reckless in their criticism of the modern judiciary. Fair enough -- lynching judges is no way to re-establish law.

A similar controversy surfaced nearly 10 years ago. A somewhat obscure periodical called First Things published a symposium that asked several prominent constitutionalists whether the time had come to hoist the pitchforks, light the torches and overthrow the lawless regime of the courts.

Well, maybe the question was a little more nuanced than that; in any case the writers replied no, we should continue to work within the system.

Just posing that question did two things. First, it gave the MSM fits (heh heh). Second, it put an ever-so-slight chill into the spines of some judges. Of course, all those feelings passed quickly and judges went quickly and quietly back to their standard recklessness.