A federal judge has ruled that President Trump’s call-up of the California National Guard was illegal, prompting an immediate appeal from the Trump administration. The troops will remain in place for at least a few days after the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals granted an administrative stay of the judges ruling.

I can’t tell you whether events in California this week will end up making the state’s governor, Gavin Newsom, the national spokesman for a revitalized Democratic resistance or a symbol of runaway im...