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Republican operatives convinced a generation of voters that plaintiffÃÛÁÄÖ±²¥™s lawyers were con-men who made themselves rich by swindling well-intentioned companies and individuals, acting with the full knowledge and consent of Democrats.

How times have changed.

Now, the GOP not only no longer regard the courtroom in general, and lawyers in particular, as anathema, the party relishes the opportunity to sue or be sued.

During my week off, there were separate lawsuits filed challenging Gov. Patrick Morrisey using executive order to carve out exemptions to the stateÃÛÁÄÖ±²¥™s mandatory vaccination law and over legislation passed in the regular session in which the Legislature usurped the state Board of EducationÃÛÁÄÖ±²¥™s rule-making authority.

As noted previously, Morrisey and the Republican legislative supermajority ignored the state Constitution and the law and defied the will of the people in taking these actions.

Morrisey declared his executive order to be in full effect even though the Legislature rejected his bill to codify the exemptions (Senate Bill 460), and statewide polling showed that a vast majority of West Virginians support mandatory vaccination requirements. In doing so, he was spoiling for a lawsuit, which he got courtesy of the state ACLU and Mountain State Justice.

Likewise, sponsors of the legislation giving the Legislature final say over Board of Education rules and policies (HB 2755) openly acknowledged the likelihood the new law would be challenged in court. Like Morrisey, the legislative supermajority defied the will of the people who in 2022 overwhelmingly rejected a proposed constitutional amendment that would have given the Legislature veto power over Board of Education policies.

When the state board unsurprisingly filed suit challenging the constitutionality of the legislation, the bill's lead sponsor, Delegate Mike Hornby, R-Berkeley, commented, ÃÛÁÄÖ±²¥œI hope we will come out with the right decision here, and I look forward to the results.ÃÛÁÄÖ±²¥�

The governor and the Legislature should not be taking actions of such questionable legality and constitutionality that they are assured of being sued over them.

So far, no one has sued over the anti-diversity, equity and inclusion bill that Senate leadership ramrodded through in the waning moments of the regular session in clear violation of constitutional and legislative rules. But itÃÛÁÄÖ±²¥™s probably just a matter of finding someone with standing to bring the case against SB 474.

And letÃÛÁÄÖ±²¥™s not forget the still-ongoing lawsuit challenging the fly-by-night machinations of former Gov. Jim Justice and former culture czar Randall Reid-Smith to secretly revive, contract and approve designs for the murals in the Capitol Rotunda, in violation of Capitol Building Commission regulations and state open meetings laws.

I suggested to attorney Harvey Peyton that he should enter photos of the spectacular Cass Gilbert-commissioned murals in the Minnesota state capitol into evidence, to starkly contrast with the amateurish, cartoonish murals that Justice and Reid-Smith foisted on the people of West Virginia.

Speaking of Justice, in Mike TonyÃÛÁÄÖ±²¥™s excellent reporting regarding the state spending nearly a half-million bucks on outside counsel, itÃÛÁÄÖ±²¥™s worth noting how the former governor cost taxpayers some $122,000 to litigate over personal whims, not unresolved legal questions.

That included $71,000 to fight a lawsuit over JusticeÃÛÁÄÖ±²¥™s refusal to reside in Charleston, as the Constitution mandates.

Given that none of the other 36 governors had any problems complying with the residency requirement, Justice ran up a legal tab simply because he considered himself to be above the law and couldnÃÛÁÄÖ±²¥™t be bothered to live in the governorÃÛÁÄÖ±²¥™s mansion.

Although he ultimately entered into a settlement in which he agreed to abide by the residency requirement, he treated it like so many other court orders against him. He ignored it.

Likewise, Justice cost taxpayers $51,000 in legal fees for refusing to comply with a Freedom of Information Act request for his official meetings schedule, something other governors have released as a matter of routine.

Justice wasnÃÛÁÄÖ±²¥™t acting out of some lofty principle, but to avoid providing clear evidence in an election year of what we already knew, that he treated the office as a part-time job.

TodayÃÛÁÄÖ±²¥™s GOP is so enamored with litigation that Attorney General J.B. McCuskey is actually crossing state lines to lead a coalition filing suit to overturn a Washington, D.C. ordinance banning assault weapons in the district.

Never mind that D.C. residents presumably approve of the ban, and probably are no more thrilled to have a red state attorney traipsing through their courts trying to impose his will on them than MAGA would be if a blue state attorney came to Charleston to file suit to overturn the stateÃÛÁÄÖ±²¥™s no-license conceal carry law.

Of course, McCuskey is following in the footsteps of his predecessor, Morrisey, who used multiple lawsuits as blunt instruments to try to impede various Biden administration policies.

Yes, members of the state GOP have gone from decrying the state as a judicial hellhole to a rallying cry of ÃÛÁÄÖ±²¥œsue, baby, sue,ÃÛÁÄÖ±²¥� and when they brazenly defy the law and the constitution, daring others to ÃÛÁÄÖ±²¥œsue us, baby, sue us.ÃÛÁÄÖ±²¥�

Of course, theyÃÛÁÄÖ±²¥™re all just emulating their idol, President Donald Trump, for whom litigiousness has been a hallmark of his entire adult life, an approach taught to him by his mentor, the vile, notorious Roy Cohn.

Trump uses outrageous lawsuits to intimidate people and entities, with the most publicized current case being his $20 billion suit against CBS for allegedly doctoring a pre-election interview with Vice President Kamala Harris.

Though the case is meritless ÃÛÁÄÖ±²¥“ raw footage and transcripts show that the interview was not doctored, but merely edited for time constraints ÃÛÁÄÖ±²¥“ Paramount, CBSÃÛÁÄÖ±²¥™s parent company, evidently is inclined to settle because it is in the midst of a merger deal that would involve the sale of 27 Paramount-owned TV stations. Those transactions require approval of the Trump-controlled FCC.

While Trump wants the money, since his greed knows no bounds, it appears the real goal of the lawsuit is to intimate Paramount executives into directing CBS News officials to self-censor coverage of Trump. It appears to be working, given the resignation of longtime ÃÛÁÄÖ±²¥œ60 MinutesÃÛÁÄÖ±²¥� executive producer Bill Owens, and the forced resignation of CBS News president Wendy McMahon.

Meanwhile, it is practically impossible to keep track of all the lawsuits filed against Trump over the many unconstitutional and unlawful actions he has taken through his unending issuance of executive orders, suits made necessary because of the timidity of Republican majorities in Congress to stand up to him.

Trump, Morrisey, and the legislative supermajority are banking on Supreme Courts in Washington and Charleston that are stacked with right-wing jurists to disregard the Constitution and legal precedents in order to uphold their actions, which unfortunately may very well happen.

Judicial hellhole, indeed.

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Seems that each week brings a new Trump-inflicted blow to the state economy, the latest being GreenPower Motor Co.ÃÛÁÄÖ±²¥™s announcement that it has laid off workers at its South Charleston plant.

Brendan Riley, president of the company that manufactures electric-powered school buses, said Trump tariffs on battery and other components imported from China have ÃÛÁÄÖ±²¥œsignificantly increased GreenPowerÃÛÁÄÖ±²¥™s operational costs and disrupted the companyÃÛÁÄÖ±²¥™s ability to build and deliver buses in a timely manner.ÃÛÁÄÖ±²¥�

Tariffs are only the latest Trump-inflicted blow to GreenPower. In February, the Trump administration froze millions of dollars of grants to GreenPower to help fund production of the buses. Those grants were awarded as part of President Joe BidenÃÛÁÄÖ±²¥™s Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act.

Granted, GreenPowerÃÛÁÄÖ±²¥™s performance has been underwhelming since it opened to much fanfare in August 2022, with then-Gov. Justice taking one of the electric buses out for a short spin.

However, the loss of millions of dollars in federal funding, coupled with a 30% cost increase on bus components undoubtedly are crippling blows. One can only wonder what damage Trump will next inflict on the state economy.

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Finally, IÃÛÁÄÖ±²¥™ve referenced late, great Gazette publisher Ned ChiltonÃÛÁÄÖ±²¥™s motto, ÃÛÁÄÖ±²¥œsustained outrageÃÛÁÄÖ±²¥� on multiple occasions. Chilton believed, correctly, that members of the media have short attention spans, and regularly fail to provide the sustained, ongoing coverage of issues necessary to build public momentum to address civic wrongs.

To that end, the unrelenting reporting on the stateÃÛÁÄÖ±²¥™s foster care crisis by Amelia Ferrell Knisley of West Virginia Watch, persevering despite constant stonewalling and blowback from the Department of Human Services and the Justice administration, epitomizes ChiltonÃÛÁÄÖ±²¥™s directive.

This week, that reporting resulted in Morrisey announcing a series of reforms intended to increase transparency and accountability in the foster care system, with multiple changes intended to facilitate the release of information, improve training and supervision and create a Critical Incident Review Team.

Now, it may turn out to be all talk and window dressing, but for the moment, we should take it at face value and salute Knisley for her tireless work on the issue.

It also shows the vital role that local media can play serving as a watchdog over institutions such as state and local government, and a reminder of how perilous it would be if local media should ever cease to exist.