It didn’t take Brian Hamel, who is challenging Rep. Michael Michaud in Maine’s 2nd Congressional District, long to pounce on a cheap political ploy nicely delivered by congressional Republicans just in time for the election.

Last week, House Republicans pushed through legislation that would place the phrase “under God” in the Pledge of Allegiance beyond judicial review. The legislation has no chance to become a law, and it’s a terrible idea. Its lone purpose is to provide candidates like Hamel an opportunity to bash their Democratic opponents on a hot-button issue.

Whether a person believes “under God” should remain part of the pledge matters little in this debate. The legislation’s intent was to breach the wall separating the judicial branch of government from the legislative branch. One of the reasons America’s unique democratic system has functioned so well is that power is divided among the three branches of government. Each acts as a check on the power of the other two.

While there is often friction between the courts, with their appointed members, and elected politicians serving in the White House and Congress, the country is stronger when power is not exclusive.

This shouldn’t be a partisan issue. If the Congress extends its reach over the courts legislatively now, the country would start down a path from which a return would be difficult. Republicans, in the majority today, might find themselves in the minority tomorrow, with Democrats walling bad laws off from judicial review.

Hamel’s campaign, in a press release sent to media after the vote, bit at the apple provided by his political allies. “… Mike Michaud chose to side with the extremists in Congress instead of representing Maine’s middle-of-the-road values,” the release said.

Rewriting the Constitution, limiting the ability of citizens to seek redress for grievances in the courts and reducing the effectiveness of the country’s system of checks and balances is extreme – and the real departure from mainstream values.