One of the most frightening and unexpected results of the Republican wins this November has been a proliferation of legislative assaults on the independence of state judges.

Several weeks ago, a group of Republican state House members in Iowa announced they would spearhead an effort to impeach all four members of the state Supreme Court, simply because of a single ruling the legislators disagreed with for ideological reasons.

The impeachment effort got a boost Wednesday when Speaker-elect Kraig Paulsen (R-Hiawatha) said if he thought Iowans wanted the four justices removed, he would not stand in the way. A few days earlier, state Sen. Kent Sorenson (R-Indianola), who will sit on the Senate Judiciary Committee, said he will also push for impeachment proceedings.

Paulsen was immediately criticized by LGBT-rights group One Iowa, who called his remarks “reckless.” Senate Majority Leader Mike Gronstal (D-Council Bluffs) said unless Paulsen has some evidence that the justices committed a “misdemeanor or malfeasance,” the legislature should focus its efforts on job creation, not impeachment.

Iowa House Democrats have pledged to block the GOP assault on judicial independence at all costs, noting that none of the four justices has ever even been accused of any sort of malfeasance.

But if that weren’t enough, late last week the new GOP Speaker of the New Hampshire House told a gathering of conservative activists that the impeachment of judges would be an effective way to produce more conservative court rulings:

Asked what he thinks about "legislation from the bench," (when judges create law rather than interpret existing law) [Speaker William] O'Brien suggested that the Petition for Grievance procedure would perhaps lead to a Bill of Redress or a Bill of Impeachment.

O'Brien surmised that if one judge was removed from his/her position, "it will calm the rest down."

[h/t Blue Hampshire]

O’Brien’s shocking comments were made amid another impeachment controversy in the state House, in which O’Brien and other House Republicans are attempting to expel Democratic Rep. Mike Brunelle for the “crime” of advocating progressive legislation in the state House while also serving as Executive Director of the New Hampshire Democratic Party:

Bettencourt said Brunelle has filed legislation that would serve as a platform for Democrats. Bettencourt gave as an example legislation to raise the minimum wage which he said is a Democratic initiative.

The impeachment of public officials purely because of philosophical differences is not acceptable behavior in the American political system. This is especially true when judges are the targets, because judges have a duty to uphold the constitution no matter which direction public opinion has turned.

To turn the discharge of that duty into an impeachable offense would set a dangerous precedent. But the fact that GOP leaders are now openly advocating this strategy is just further proof of how arrogant and extreme the modern Republican Party has become.