Commentary Some in the media and academia have been hyperventilating about a point of constitutional law they call the “independent legislature doctrine.” They worry that the doctrine could produce more Republicans in Congress. The hysteria has been matched only by the detractors’ astonishing constitutional ignorance. Proof of this ignorance is how they describe the independent legislature doctrine: “extreme,” “fringe,” “radical,” “lawless,” and “threat to democracy.” In fact, it’s none of these things. In one form or another, the doctrine has been part of our political system since the Constitution was adopted. To the extent that the ignorance is not willful, I suspect it arises because this is another subject neglected in constitutional law courses. In this essay I’ll try to lay out the facts about the independent legislature doctrine as objectively as I can. Before going further, though, let’s see how the doctrine works in practice, using two related illustrations. …