the problem really comes when law enforcement, state governors, or military leaders have to make a decision which branch of the government is correct.
when all three branches are roughly in accord, then the shared hallucination (err… social contract) continues to function. when they are not in accord, and when other leaders start picking sides, and who to follow – then things start to break down. and that’s when things like civil wars start.
that’s why i think – even if the court is acting unconstitutionally – staying within the bounds of established law to restrain them is important.
pack the court, give them term limits by rotating them out, pass laws to reverse their decisions, or impeach them – but having the other branches outright ignore them would – i think – lead to worse outcomes.
( i think lower courts ignoring them might be a different matter. that’s at least part of the normal process. and conservative lower court judges certainly ignore established precedent all the time. )
