The death of Ruth Bader Ginsburg yesterday was yet another gut punch in what is already a tough year. The diminutive Ginsburg was a titan on the Supreme Court who championed equal rights for all and was a standard bearer in the fight for gender equality. The ‘Notorious RBG’ was certainly an inspiration for many women including my own daughter.
I was not going to post anything today because in a normal world we should all just sit back and mourn the loss of Ginsburg and pay tribute to her life and legacy. However, we do not live in a normal world these days, and within minutes of the announcement of Ginsburg’s death, Mitch McConnell, was already stating that he would be trying to ram through another Trump nominee regardless of the upcoming election.
Remember that McConnell famously denied President Obama’s Supreme Court nominee Merrick Garland even a hearing on the Senate floor stating that the American people should have a voice in who the nominee is and he would wait until after the results of the 2016 election. Obama had nominated Garland in FEBRUARY of an election year. Here we are in the latter half of September and McConnell, in an historic display of hypocrisy, is going to try to force a nominee through regardless of the election and regardless of who the American select as the next president.
In McConnell’s own words, the right thing to do is to let the next president, whoever that is, pick the nominee. This will be the ultimate test of whether some Republicans can find their spines and do what is right or whether they will roll over like they have done so many times before during this administration and let Trump and McConnell take another brick out of the foundation of American democracy.
I am not hopeful. The track record of Republicans holding this president accountable and of resisting McConnell is pretty dismal. It was on public display during the impeachment hearings. While I was disappointed that Trump was not convicted of ‘high crimes and misdemeanors’ as I thought he should have been after reading the Mueller report, what was even more disturbing to me was the fact that the Republicans refused to entertain any witnesses or subpoena any documents. It was a sham and the majority of Republicans just went along with it.
If the Republicans are true to form when it comes to voting on a new Supreme Court nominee that is rammed through by Mitch McConnell either prior to the election or in the lame duck session thereafter, we will end up with a Supreme Court justice who has no credibility and whose every decision in the future will be clouded because of the way they were parachuted into the highest court in the land. If I were someone who was nominated to the Supreme Court under such circumstances, I would seriously consider refusing the appointment. A few days ago, I posted a story about how the Irish National Lacrosse team had given up their spot in the upcoming World Games to a team from the Iroquois native American tribe because it was the right thing to do. Any jurist worthy of the Supreme Court, should take a similar stand with respect to this nomination.
Like I said, this will be a test of the true character of every Republican Senator and anyone nominated to the Supreme Court during this troubling time. One would like to think that there are still a few Republicans who care more about American democracy and what is best for the country in the long term rather than simply trying to hold on to power at all costs. I sincerely hope that a few Republicans and potential nominees will find their spines, look in the mirror and do the right thing.
If McConnel is able to ram through a nominee prior to the next president being inaugurated, it might be a short-term victory, but it will do long term damage to American democracy, the credibility of the Supreme Court and any shred of integrity the Republican party once espoused.
RBG often quoted former Supreme Court Justice Louis Brandeis. I found one of his quotes and thought it was particularly appropriate right now.
“If we desire respect for the law, we must first make the law respectable.”
It is up to all of us to carry on the fight that was so valiantly and courageously waged by ‘the Notorious RBG’. RIP Justice Ginsburg. We will do our best.