Several days before The New York Times uncovered credible evidence to suggest Democrats might have helped to recruit retired teacher Dan J. Sullivan to run against incumbent Republican Sen. Dan S. Sullivan in Alaska, the Justice Department filed a pre-emptive lawsuit intended to block certification of the race — but only if the Republican incumbent loses while the rival with the similar name remains on the ballot.

According to Donald Trump, federal prosecutors filed the case at his behest. It soon after became clear that having a president with no legal background (other than his many criminal indictments and felony convictions) dictate federal court filings is unwise. MS NOW reported:

A federal judge on Sunday dismissed the Department of Justice’s effort to block Alaska’s certification of its U.S. Senate election if GOP Sen. Dan Sullivan loses.

Judge Sharon Gleason, an Alaska federal district court judge, said many voters have already cast their ballots and that there would be no way to determine whether they intended to vote for the incumbent senator or the other Dan Sullivan on the ballot, Daniel J. Sullivan, without violating their privacy.

“More fundamentally, the United States provides no workable plan as to how it proposes to segregate ballots cast for Daniel J. Sullivan on Election Day and then conduct a court-ordered unspecified ‘investigation’ of those ballots in a manner that would preserve voter secrecy,” Gleason added.

Naturally, the DOJ filed notice that it’s appealing that ruling, and time will tell what becomes of the case. But in the meantime, let’s review what we’ve seen from GOP officials and the Republican administration over the last four days:

Thursday, Oct. 29: Alaska’s outgoing Republican governor, Mike Dunleavy, suggested during a nationally televised interview that the state might withhold certification of the U.S. Senate election results if former Democratic Rep. Mary Peltola wins.

Friday, Oct. 30: Alaska U.S. Attorney Michael Heyman, a Trump appointee, confirmed a criminal probe over the ballot-stacking allegations.

Friday, Oct. 30: Trump’s DOJ pushed for a court order to isolate certain Alaska ballots to investigate potential voter confusion.

Sunday, Nov. 2: MS NOW reported that at least three people who donated to Dan J. Sullivan’s candidacy received visits from FBI agents at their remote Alaska homes.

Sunday, Nov. 2: Several congressional Republicans, including sitting GOP senators, argued publicly against allowing Peltola to take office, even if she’s elected.

I can appreciate why the party is engaged in performative outrage. Alaska’s Senate race is one of the nation’s most competitive and closely watched contests, and the outcome of this contest might very well dictate which party controls the upper chamber, which could have dramatic consequences for the nation and its future.

Republicans, in other words, have a reason to pretend to be enraged in the hope that it helps steer the race in the incumbent senator’s direction.

But as things stand, the reactions to the ballot-stacking allegations in Alaska have been significantly worse than the ballot-stacking allegations themselves.

Even if we put aside that Peltola has repeatedly denied having had knowledge of the alleged scheme, the fact remains that the allegations themselves are not so serious as to warrant such widespread apoplexy.

If Republicans want to argue that ballot-stacking deserves to be seen as underhanded campaign mischief, that’s more than fair. But it’s equally fair to note that it’s a common tactic, employed by both parties, going back generations, and is not illegal.

While we’re at it, let’s not forget that while assorted GOP officials look for the nearest fainting couch, Republicans engaged in some electoral shenanigans of their own — not just in Alaska and not just in Senate races in general, but in the very same Sullivan/Peltola race that’s become the subject of partisan mania.

The gap between the relevant details and the hair-on-fire hysterics is enormous and growing. If there’s a reason to think the GOP whining is sincere, I can’t think of it.

The post In Alaska, the partisan response to ballot-stacking allegations is worse than ballot-stacking appeared first on MS NOW.

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