THERE MUST BE A COMPETITION going on in Congress to see which Republican can come up with the ugliest comments about the judiciary. First TomDelay implicitly threatened the judges who ruled in the Terri Schiavo case: "The time will come for the men responsible for [Terri Schiavo's death] to answer for their behavior, but not today. "

Now, John Aravosis reports from Washington that Sen. John Cornyn, from Texas, said that recent incidents of violence against judges are an understandable response to their "political decisions" and "lack of accountability."

SENATOR JOHN CORNYN: "I don't know if there is a cause-and-effect connection but we have seen some recent episodes of courthouse violence in this country. Certainly nothing new, but we seem to have run through a spate of courthouse violence recently that's been on the news and I wonder whether there may be some connection between the perception in some quarters on some occasions where judges are making political decisions yet are unaccountable to the public, that it builds up and builds up and builds up to the point where some people engage in - engage in violence." [Senate Floor, 4/4/05]

Aravosis has attached the entire relevant part of the transcript, so that the above passage can be read in context. There is no doubt that Cornyn is sympathizing with physical violence against judges.

Sources: AmericaBlog.com, Shakespeare's Sister, and Think Progress.