Commentary:
UPDATE: So I’m wondering: What if Virginians rebelled and overthrew Northam’s government? It’s unlikely, but if they did, federal intervention is also unlikely. There have been two such cases in American history — the Dorr Rebellion in Rhode Island, and the Wilmington Insurrection of 1898, and in both cases the federal government didn’t intervene. To intervene, the president would have to make a declaration under the Insurrection Act, and there’s no obligation that he do so. And the question of which state government is legitimate is, according to the Supreme Court’s decision in Luther v. Borden, political and non-justiciable.

Comment