Maybe it isn’t Justice Kelsey that needs to be worried in 2027, but a coalition of Virginians sick and tired of Dan Helmer’s lust. For power. Of course.

by Shaun Kenney

Who is this magical “we” Dan Helmer is talking about? Have the Democrats already decided that Kelsey must go? Are Democrats seriously contemplating a palace coup against Virginia’s judiciary branch? Who else knows about this conspiracy? Who is the ringleader of this conspiracy? What do people think the reaction across Virginia will be if Justice Kelsey is punished for not obeying the Democratic Party’s political desires?

Questions we ought to be asking — but aren’t.

Questions we would be asking if a Republican threatened a Virginia Supreme Court justice like this — but aren’t.

My antipathy for Helmer knows few boundaries. Not just that the man is wrong, but I can only have so many individuals come and talk to me about Helmer’s “reign of shame” in Richmond and elsewhere that you begin to observe the old Virginia dictum: a gentleman does not lie, cheat, or steal nor do they associate with those who do.

Helmer is not a gentleman — and let that carry all the insinuation and odium one might conceive.

It is therefore no surprise that Helmer — after trying to draw his own seat and select his own constituents — not only had so many Democratic challengers in the now widely derided “lobster district” so as to confirm his unpopularity in his own party, but the Supreme Court of Virginia in a narrow 4-3 ruling chose to overturn what was arguably from start to finish an unconstitutional process.

Helmer’s response to this loss? Openly threatening the judicial branch in what can only be termed as a threat and a promise, per Andrew Kerley at the Virginia Scope:

“We will make sure that Justice Kelsey does not serve anymore come this January,” Helmer said.

Justice Arthur Kelsey, who authored the redistricting opinion against Democrats, will reach the end of his term in January.

Oh boy, do they have it in for Justice Kelsey.

Virginia Republican House Minority Leader Terry Kilgore (R-Gate City) ripped into Helmer tipping the hand of Virginia Democrats and their effort to restrict judicial independence:

“The Supreme Court of Virginia upheld the rule of law and respected the Constitution. Disagreeing with a decision is one thing, but undermining the legitimacy of our judicial system because you don’t like the outcome is another. Our courts are not political tools for either party — and Virginians expect leaders to respect that.”

Judicial independence is a cornerstone of constitutional democracy, to be sure. Which is why if Helmer’s sentiment is more than an opinion — that is to say, it really is a “we” rather than an “I think” or “I believe this should happen” sort of sentiment — that we are about to face yet another constitutional crisis far deeper and more revealing than the unconstitutional gerrymandering effort this year.

Delegate Wren Williams (R-Stuart) took it straight into Helmer’s teeth on the petulance and zero-sum reductivism of the political left whose only morality seems to be getting precisely what they want no matter what:

Now think about what that means for every other judge in Virginia. The next time a hard case comes across their bench, the judge will have to include whether they’ll be reappointed. Judges have children in college too. They have mortgages, law school debt, and often give up higher earning opportunities to take the bench. \

Now, it’s been made clear, they cannot afford to make the “wrong” decision, and now they know exactly what “wrong” means when Democrats are in charge.

This is how you get leverage over a judge. This is how you bend a court and compromise our third branch of government. With a paycheck. With a pension. With their retirement.

This is not how we do things here in Virginia. We follow the rule of law.

When Chuck Schumer threatened Justice Kavanaugh on the Supreme Court steps in 2020, Chief Justice Roberts rebuked him publicly. Bar associations condemned him. Schumer walked it back the next day.

Schumer could not actually remove Kavanaugh, but Delegates will cast a vote on Kelsey’s re-election, if sought, in January. The threat is not rhetorical. It is operational. And has likely already had its impact on Justice Kelsey’s decision to move forward.

Democrats would be screaming if a Republican delegate or said this about a justice that ruled in their favor with a majority opinion. I’m interested to see the reaction if any to this threat of retaliation against Justice Kelsey.

Justice Kelsey decided the case in front of him on the law, in the majority with three other justices. Just as has done for twenty-five years.

The Commonwealth does not threaten its judges. We do not purge our courts. We do not measure justices by whether they vote the way the majority caucus needs for power.

This is brandishing power, and it needs to be called out.

Speaking of calling things out, State Senator Louise Lucas took some UVA 1L to the woodshed on Twitter calling him “chopped” (or whatever the hell that means) to the total silence of General Assembly Democrats.

Contrast that with the formal bullwhipping of former Governor Glenn Youngkin (R-VA) after a then-17-year-old made an assumption and duly commented on an erroneous news report from a Richmond radio station repeated by the Washington Post claiming Youngkin was going to scrap an exhibit at the Governor’s Mansion detailing the history of slavery there.

Pearls were clutched! Sensibilities offended! Assumptions made!

Of course, that same student took photos with now-disgraced governor (yet somehow simultaneously okay) and blackface enthusiast Ralph Northam — a fact Team Youngkin was quick to point out. Granted, Lucas’ target was a 23-ish year old 1L — but the dynamic of picking on people smaller and weaker than yourself?

Such is the present condition of the Virginia Democrats.

Meanwhile, Justice Kelsey will have to decide whether or not he would like to stand for reappointment and dare the Democratic-controlled General Assembly to be just as vulgar and common as Dan Helmer supposes they are.

For the rest of us, there’s a certain fascination one typically reserves for train wrecks and car crashes when it comes to watching Virginia Democrats stab each other in the neck for temporary advantage. Virginia still doesn’t have a budget, Senate Democrats are now “further apart” from their House colleagues than they were a week ago, and Abigail Spanberger doesn’t seem terribly interested in either refereeing or insisting on certain things in the budget. Democrats seem terribly interested in packing the courts to get their way, which to them might seem like a solution of a sort — then they can run over top of the constitution to get their way.

Yet once again, when half of Virginia believes they can disenfranchise the other half to get 91% of the power, when progressives are perfectly willing to threaten 1Ls and justices alike to get what they want, and when they turn on one another with perfect willingness to shut down the state government in a rather expensive game of chicken?

This all looks funny and sounds petulant in June. Yet for unpaid teachers and deputies come July it is going to sound obtuse and childish. The good news is that there are plenty of Democrats and nearly all Republicans who see the game for what it is and are tired of electing the worst and expecting the best.

Maybe it shouldn’t be Justice Kelsey who should be worried about 2027. Maybe Dan Helmer needs a wakeup call from someone within his own party, backed by independents and Republicans who many disagree on policy but can temporarily unite around character — or a lack thereof.

Sounds like Dan Helmer needs to go.

Shaun Kenney is the senior editor of The Republican Standard. This column is republished here with the permission of The Republican Standard.