19 Sep Justice Ginsburg and Justice for America
Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg deserves the respect of the American people of all political stripes. She stood for what she believed in, and had the grace and class to be able to form genuine and close friendships with those with whom she disagreed, including her widely acknowledged bond with Justice Antonin Scalia. She was a controversial yet revered character in America.
Rejecting constitutional originalism or textualism was her intellectual choice, and represented in her worldview the way to rightly fulfil her role as a Supreme Court Justice. Her judicial leanings away from constitutional originalism were honest and selfless, not driven by any suggestion of a quest for power or money. She deserves the respect of all Americans, even those deeply concerned that judicial activism dangerously dissolves the separation of powers, and involves the de facto exercise of legislative policy-making power by the unelected and therefore unaccountable judiciary.
America, the Constitution, and the American people also deserve respect. The people deserve the protection of the constitutional system that shields us against chaos and anarchy.
For that reason, President Trump should move to appoint Justice Ginsburg’s replacement immediately, because of the need for a full and stable court in place capable of a majority decision in time for the 2020 election.
Prior to Justice Ginsburg’s passing leftists promised/threatened chaos and rioting if their presidential candidate loses. The anticipation of that pandemonium compounded by unprecedented issuance of massive numbers of unsolicited mail-in ballots which are the devil’s playground for vote fraud, are a recipe for a protracted and potentially violent time in America as we sort out election results. The country needs to know that our court system will be ready for the inevitable challenges, and in particular, the Supreme Court will be at capacity and capable of issuing a majority opinion, which requires a 9-person court, not an 8-person court that could get stuck in a 4-4 tie.
Following the Constitution maintains order, and the reality is that it is the only way to have order. The only system we have to fill openings on the federal bench is for the President to nominate justices, and the Senate to vote on whether to confirm. That translates into the practical reality that openings occur at times that they are advantageous to whichever political party holds the White House, and the Senate majority, including when neither party holds both. This is equally true for both parties.
Those lamenting the unfairness of the timing of this vacancy, including Senator Schumer and other Democrats claiming to stand on “principle” in demanding that this Supreme Court vacancy must remain until after the election, are actually just maneuvering to orchestrate the vote when they hope their side is running things. When in 2016 President Obama wanted to appoint a new justice to replace Antonin Scalia, Senator Schumer argued that principle required the Senate to hold an immediate vote on the President’s nominee regardless of it being an election year. But he was powerless to force that vote because his party was in the minority. Now the same Senator Schumer, again in the minority, is saying the only right answer is to delay the Senate vote until after the election.
To recap: In 2016 it suited Senator Schumer to argue that principle demanded a Senate hearing on an immediate replacement of a justice in an election year, and in 2020 he is arguing that principle demands that a Senate hearing on replacing a justice must wait until after the election.
But the biggest irony of all is that Democrats who are opposed to the plan for President Trump to nominate a replacement immediately and for the Senate to vote, is that those leftists are holding out hope that a new Biden administration would nominate someone who further subjugates and even sometimes ignores the Constitution. They are clamoring for the right to continue the leftist assault on the constitutional order in America, and to eat away at the separation of powers.
Noting how well the mission to dissipate the power of the Constitution and its protection of individual liberties dovetails with the growing power of the Marxist, socialist movement in America, Republicans are wise to move expeditiously to fill this Supreme Court vacancy. In fact, buttressing the court now against the coming onslaught of socialist, Marxist, freedom-crushing, government-empowering ideas now trendy in leftist circles may prove to be a giant step in preserving freedom in America.
Debbie Georgatos
Host, America Can We Talk?