Chief Justice John Roberts likened the job of a judge to calling balls and strikes. I think most Americans would agree with the image of courts functioning as impartial umpires. But in the last few years, as the U.S. Supreme Court has issued a handful of decisions that Democrats don’t like, they have embarked on a campaign to delegitimize the court and remake it to their liking. In other words, they are trying to re-write the rules simply because they don’t like the outcome of every game.

This years-long campaign accelerated recently when President Biden voiced support for a series of “reforms” to the Supreme Court. The president’s plan includes circumventing the Constitution’s lifetime appointments for justices, conveniently retiring Republican-appointed justices first. It also includes replacing the Supreme Court’s ethics code with a new code of conduct written by Democrats in Congress.

Make no mistake, this is court-packing by another name. If changes like these actually become law, it would set a dangerous precedent and undermine the court’s independence. And I fear it would just be the beginning. It’s easy to imagine a future in which each new administration tries to “rebalance” the court, resulting in wild swings with every election.

I’ve disagreed with more than a few Supreme Court decisions. I’ve disagreed with justices appointed by presidents from my own party. But I’ve never thought that my not agreeing with a decision meant that the court was illegitimate or that my party should change the law to allow us to interfere with the court’s makeup. That hasn’t been the case with Democrats, however. The court hands down a few decisions that Democrats don’t like and we hear calls to pack the court, impeach justices, and other efforts to smear justices and remake the court to the Democrats’ liking.

Not long ago, Senate Democrats – frustrated they could not rubber-stamp all of President Obama’s appointees – abolished the filibuster for lower-court nominees. It turned out to be a quick step from abolishing the filibuster for the Supreme Court a few years later. In hindsight, Democrats regretted using the “nuclear option” for their own short-term political gain. But their latest campaign to politicize the judiciary suggests they have not completely learned their lesson.

If Democrats were really concerned about impartiality, the rule of law, and promoting faith in the Supreme Court, the last thing they would be doing is interfering with a separate and independent branch of government. Once again, Democrats seem focused on their short-term political gain, rather than the long-term health of our institutions.