One thing Republicans did for years, electeds and certainly the broader conservative moment, was to demonize portions of the judiciary. There was no 9th circuit, just THE LIBERAL 9TH CIRCUIT, and news reports generally reflected this, making all their rulings sound somehow illegitimate (The 9th circuit is no longer liberal).
For whatever reasons, Dems don't do that, preferring to maintain happy illusions about an increasingly corrupt and illegitimate system.
