Kansas Governor Threatens To Defund Judiciary If It Rules Against Him

Kansas Governor Threatens To Defund Judiciary If It Rules Against Him
WASHINGTON - FEBRUARY 06: Congressional Joint Economic Committee ranking member Sen. Sam Brownback (R-KS) gives an opening statement before hearing testimony from Bureau of Labor Statistics officials on the employment situation on Capitol Hill February 6, 2009 in Washington, DC. The U.S. Labor Department reported that unemployment hit a new high of 7.6-percent as 598,000 jobs were lost in the month of January. (Photo by Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images)
WASHINGTON - FEBRUARY 06: Congressional Joint Economic Committee ranking member Sen. Sam Brownback (R-KS) gives an opening statement before hearing testimony from Bureau of Labor Statistics officials on the employment situation on Capitol Hill February 6, 2009 in Washington, DC. The U.S. Labor Department reported that unemployment hit a new high of 7.6-percent as 598,000 jobs were lost in the month of January. (Photo by Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images)

On Thursday, Kansas Gov. Sam Brownback signed a bill that threatens the entire state's judiciary with destruction if it rules against a law he favors. Brownback has spent much of his tenure attempting to curb the state supreme court and consolidate power in the executive branch. Thursday's startling maneuver suggests the deeply conservative governor has no compunction about simply obliterating separation of powers when another branch of government gets in his way.

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