The game is changing. What's unfolding right now in the Texas v. Pa. case in the Supreme Court, in my view, is significantly different than what came before.

Republican politicians have launched a sneak attack on democracy. It's alarming.

Even as recently as a day or two ago, most informed observers viewed the Texas case as a bad joke, evil but harmless. Texas's initial filing was so embarrassing their own solicitor general didn't sign it. Trump's motion to intervene by John Eastman may have been even lamer.

The first hint of danger came on Wednesday when a gang of 17 conservative AGs led by Missouri's AG Eric Schmitt filed a brief backing Texas.

The prevailing initial reaction was to view the AG brief as reinforcing the picture of the weakness of Texas's and Trump's position by refusing to endorse their outlandish arguments.

But this was mistaken, because they did endorse them.

Yesterday, more disturbing developments.

A group of over 100 GOP members of Congress jumped in to support TX and Trump.

Then a group of Pa. state legislators did too. They were followed by a group of Pa. state senators, represented by noted conservative lawyer Jason Torchinsky.

The GOP speaker of Pa.'s state house and senate majority leader jumped in to back Texas and Trump too.

Then another group of GOP politicians from 3 other states.

This looks to me like a coordinated ambush strategy. What looked like an offensive-but-harmless clown show a couple days ago is starting to look a carefully orchestrated sneak attack marshaling a significant chunk of national- and state-level GOP power.

Does it have any hope of succeeding? I don't have the Scotus expertise to say, frankly. But I'm uneasy again. Litigation that looks like last-gasp flailings of a handful of dead-enders is one thing, litigation with the weight of the GOP rallied behind it is another.

And I suspect that's exactly their strategy.