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You are here: Home / Politics / America / Breaking News: Associate Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg Has Died at Age 87

Breaking News: Associate Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg Has Died at Age 87

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Breaking News: Associate Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg Has Died at Age 87

From NPR:

Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg, the demure firebrand who in her 80s became a legal, cultural, and feminist icon has died. The Supreme Court announced her death, saying the cause was complications from cancer.

Architect of the legal fight for women’s rights in the 1970s, Ginsburg subsequently served 27 years on the nation’s highest court, becoming its most prominent member. Her death will inevitably set in motion what promises to be a nasty and tumultuous political battle over who will succeed her, and it thrusts the Supreme Court vacancy into the spotlight of the presidential campaign.

Just days before her death, as her strength waned, Ginsburg dictated this statement to her granddaughter Clara Spera: “My most fervent wish is that i I will not be replaced until a new president is installed.”

She knew what was to come. Ginsburg’s death will have profound consequences for the court and the country. Inside the court, not only is the leader of the liberal wing gone, but with the Court about to open a new term, Chief Justice John Roberts no longer holds the controlling vote in closely contested cases.

Though he has a consistently conservative record in most cases, he has split from fellow conservatives in a few important ones, this year casting his vote with liberals, for instance, to at least temporarily protect the so-called Dreamers from deportation by the Trump administration, to uphold a major abortion precedent, and to uphold bans on large church gatherings during the coronavirus pandemic. But with Ginsburg gone, there is no clear court majority for those outcomes.

Senator McConnell will now get his career long wish: to establish a permanent conservative majority on the Supreme Court. In January 2019, I wrote this as part of a post about Senator McConnell:

And he telegraphed during the hearings for Brett Kavanaugh that he’s gearing up to leverage another potential Supreme Court vacancy* in 2019 or 2020 as a political weapon in the 2020 presidential and senatorial elections.

* I’m expecting, provided Justice Ginsburg completes her recovery as expected and remains healthy, that the administration in conjunction with Leonard Leo from The Federalist Society and Senator McConnell will try to replicate with Justice Thomas what they did in the summer of 2018 with Justice Kennedy. Specifically, they’ll create a retirement and subsequent Supreme Court vacancy during the late summer to early fall of 2020 that the President and Republican senators can campaign for reelection on. Thereby replicating the dynamic that Senator McConnell created and the President leveraged in his campaign that it was necessary to elect him, in this case reelect him, and to reelect the GOP majority in the Senate to ensure that the Democrats don’t appoint the next Supreme Court justice, change the balance of the Supreme Court, and destroy the Constitution and thereby the United States.

The above analysis was based on an assessment I did for someone as the Kavanaugh hearings was coming to an end. That assessment is attached here:

McConnell_Rule_Pattern_Analysis

Now we wait to see what Senator McConnell decides to do, as well as the effects of RBG’s passing on the 2020 elections.

May her memory be for a blessing.

Open thread!

 

Reader Interactions

181Comments

  9. 9.

    Steeplejack

    Maybe tag that “McConnell Rule Pattern Analysis” as a PDF. Many people’s phones or tablets will download one automatically without giving a chance to see what it is first. Can screw with people’s data allotment.

  12. 12.

    Eljai

    Ruth Bader Ginsburg leaves a rich legacy.  May she rest in peace.

    I swear I will take to the motherfucking streets if I have to.

  14. 14.

    PsiFighter37

    We are fucked. If there weren’t enough GOP senators willing to do the right thing  over the past 3+ years, it won’t happen now. Glad to see I will never see a liberal majority in my lifetime.

  17. 17.

    guachi

    We are so screwed.

    Don’t know why she decided to stay on the court as long as she did. For all the good she did we are screwed for decades now.

  25. 25.

    What Have The Romans Ever Done for Us?

    Damn. This fucking traitorous crook gets to appoint 3 Justices to the Supreme Court? That’s really going to happen? Words fail. The Universe hate America.

  27. 27.

    prostratedragon

    Such a gallant lady and patriot. May her fervent wish somehow be granted.

    (I’d start tonight by trumpeting replays of certain people’s statements on the last such occasion 5 years ago or so from every housetop in the country.)

  34. 34.

    lamh36

    REST IN POWER RBG!

    FUCKKKKKK!!!

    I’m telling ya’ll now folks if Donald Trump wins re-election and is allowed to place ANOTHER conservative justice on SCOTUS Black and Brown folks and non-white folks can kiss some of our right good bye!

    Now more than ever we’ve got to vote this FUQ’ER OUT!

    Damnit.

  38. 38.

    Yutsano

    My heart just sank…she was an amazing woman. Her legacy will live on for generations.

    Yertle is salivating right about now.

  39. 39.

    Skepticat

    I feared this so, and it breaks my heart—not only to lose such an amazing women but also to be faced with the hideous result on the court. I don’t believe sanity can prevail in current Senate circumstances. Bless RBG for all she did and for all she showed us.

  40. 40.

    Catherine D.

    Best hope is that Mango Mussolini actually nominates Ted Cruz and we can watch the Senate implode.

    But I thought you couldn’t confirm a Supreme Court nominee this late /sad snark

  41. 41.

    PenAndKey

    Well, fuck. If we don’t expand the court in ajnuary we are screwed for at least two generations. I’ll be honest, I’m seriously tempted to check out, vote, and then ignore everything except my family and hobbies until this nightmare is over.

  42. 42.

    JPL

    Mitch won’t do anything until after the election, because he will have time then.   trump will use it to get the evangelicals to the polls

    I’m just empty because she deserves to rip but

  43. 43.

    TS (the original)

    All I can see is McConnell smirking as he says “my rules don’t apply to republicans” and Senator Collins will be concerned while she votes for a RWNJ

  45. 45.

    Viva BrisVegas

    RIP RBG. One of the greats.

    Barr and McConnell would have known this was about to happen. They already have a plan in place.

    It certainly makes Trump’s list of SC candidates look less like a wish list and more like a shopping list.

  46. 46.

    Adam L Silverman

    @DougJ: Good for you. What do you want, a cookie? Maybe, just fucking maybe, you could actually do what I do and see if anyone is drafting a post on breaking news coverage before you start one. That’s what I did, you, nor anyone else wasn’t. So I started drafting. Or you could continue to do whatever the fuck you do.

  47. 47.

    CatFacts

    She was amazing. And my first thought on hearing this was, “They’ll try to ram through a new justice before the election and use the supreme court to throw the election.” Damn.

  48. 48.

    Mathguy

    Awful that she died. RIP. Awful that she was selfish enough not to retire when Obama could have replaced her with someone else that was sane as well.

  50. 50.

    Jeffro

    @evap: yes and we will, we must.

    One for Gorsuch (should have been Garland), one for Kavanaugh (never should have been confirmed), and one for whomever is installed in RBG’s seat before Biden takes over in January.

    Add 3 seats, minimum.  4, if you want to send a message, Biden & Co.  This has to stop.  These double-standards – the GOP’s utter lack of standards except ‘whatever keeps them in power’ – cannot be rewarded in any way.  In fact, we have to make them pay dearly.

  54. 54.

    Percysowner

    @PsiFighter37: Collins might try to save her seat in Maine by voting to hold until after the election and Romney has shown a tendency to do the decent thing. Murkowski also might feel that she has to show her independence from Trump. That would put the vote at 50/50. Sadly Pence would vote with the Rethugs. Is there anyon e else who might feel enough pressure to “do the right thing” in order to win this year?

    Realistically we have to win the Senate, The House and the Presidency and then add Justices to the Supreme Court AND get Breyer to resign.

  55. 55.

    PaulWartenberg

    @MomSense: you know very well that Mitch will reverse his stance from 2016 when Scalia died, and eagerly replace Ginsburg with the most far right wingnut 30 year old within the next week.

    The deepest pit of hell is not enough for Mitch McConnell.

    And to every Far Left voter who couldn’t be bothered to vote for Hillary in 2016 in every state she lost by under 10,000 votes: FFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFF FUUUUUUUUUUUUUU CCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCC KKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKK YYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYY OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO UUUUUUUUUUUUU UUUUUUUUUUUUUU. The coming 6-3 conservative nightmare of the next decade is all on you. >:(

  58. 58.

    tam1MI

    I’d like to thank the Bernie supporters that just couldn’t bring themselves to vote for Hillary for bringing this disaster upon us.  [/s]

  61. 61.

    James E Powell

    The entire Village will now bend over backwards to explain how the Republicans’ refusal to even consider Merrick Garland has no relevance to the current situation.

    ETA – And once again, I want the NYT destroyed and James Comey cleaning toilets in a refugee camp.

  64. 64.

    PsiFighter37

    @Percysowner: Collins will vote for whoever is nominated – she isn’t winning now, no matter what – but the GOP can know that their legacy is cementing domination of SCOTUS for a generation. Unless Clarence Thomas decides to stroke out and Roberts realizes that everyone else to his right is a nut job, we are screwed.

  66. 66.

    lamh36

    LesaPamplin
    ·
    4m
    Twitter knew RBG was very ill that’s why he started floating replacements. Uncle Clarence was giving him the scoop.

    I’ve been so busy, but that orange has been all of a suddent talking bout SCOTUS picks…did the fuq’er have a heads up?

  69. 69.

    Jeffro

    Murkowski already out saying she won’t vote to replace RBG until after inauguration day.  heart heart heart

  74. 74.

    Mai Naem mobile

    I know she had cancer and things didn’t look good but i.have to wonder if COVID is actually what killed her.

  75. 75.

    Ohio Mom

    Well this certainly harshes my mellow Rosh Hashanah mood. I finished my dinner wine, now I need a stiffer drink (and there are none in this house).

    Sometimes as a special needs mom, I wonder if I’ll be able to die in peace, knowing that my kid will be on his own without his fiercest advocate. But now I think of RBG, she knew on her deathbed that her timing was fucking everything. I feel for her.

  84. 84.

    Brachiator

    I had been taking a nap. I woke up and this post is the first thing I see.

    I am stunned.

    May she rest in peace.

    So many thoughts. For now, I hope some day we are blessed to have someone inspired by her life and example take a seat on the Supreme Court.

  85. 85.

    The Fat Kate Middleton

    RIP, RBG. I am in tears. Also learned this morning that my baby sister is in stage 4 of breast cancer- her doctor says 1-2 years. FUCKfuckfuck cancer.

  87. 87.

    Omnes Omnibus

    1.  RIP RBG and thank you for lifetime of service and accomplishments.
    2. Fuck you to all the alternative history people.
    3. Don’t fucking panic.
    4. Start calling our senators not later than Monday morning.
    5. I may need to stay clear of this site for a while because of 2 and 3.
  88. 88.

    tokyocali (formerly tokyo ex-pat)

    May she preside over an even higher court and may her legacy outlast and outshine the mediocre piles of waste (you know who they are) that she had to work with.

    I worry about the future. It’s either take to the streets or expand the court. Doing nothing and letting the turtle and the orange mango install another conservative justice without pushback of some kind can’t be the plan.

  90. 90.

    Gvg

    Well I have been mad at her for a long time. I guess it’s time to move beyond that.

    we have to take the Senate.

    we have to expand the court.

    Tell every “pro-lifer” that complains, I will never accept living under repressive restrictions of my basic rights, so no matter what stupid laws conservatives get passed, we will get them undone”

    Make them understand that the only reason we have seemed polite is that after Roe, the laws were basically sane.

  92. 92.

    Mai Naem mobile

    @Jeffro: don’t think it makes a difference but Mark Kelly can be seated right after he wins . He doesn’t have to edit till January because it’s a special election. The thing is I don’t think AZ votes will be counted for 2 weeks after the election.

  93. 93.

    Betty Cracker

    Fuck all of y’all who are using this awful moment to criticize a valiant woman and a feminist icon upon the news of her death. This is so fucking not the time for that.

  98. 98.

    Sab

    @guachi: You are an idiot on this topic. McConnell would never have let Obama appoint anyone more. Merrick Garland is very centrist. No one (assuming anyone) appointed by Obama could have gotten through McConnell.

    Better her than anyone else late on her term. (Always she was good.) Why bow out gracefully for another drunken frat boy rapist for decades

    ETA: Not saying you are always an idiot. Just on this topic.

  99. 99.

    Nora

    I just wrote to both my senators, not that it will make a difference because I know Gillibrand and Shumer will do the right thing, but I felt I had to do something.

    My heart is breaking. That poor brave woman, who held out as long as humanly possible, who stood up for us all down the line, who never let us down. May she rest in power.

    May we protect her legacy.

  103. 103.

    patroclus

    RIP RBG.  A great litigator and Justice.

    The key will be the lame duck Session.  Trump will almost certainly put someone forward but there won’t be time enough for hearings and a vote before Election Day.  So that means Collins, Gardner et al. will have likely have lost their elections and will in fact be lame ducks.  Murkowski already gives us 1 vote; so we need 3 more.  Romney?  Sasse?  Alexander??  Surely, there is a possibility that this can be stopped.  It makes the election that much more important.

  107. 107.

    MomSense

    The Supreme Court really motivates Republicans so this is going to make the election tougher.  McConnell will probably wait until December to keep the SCOTUS seat front and center.

  108. 108.

    Bluegirlfromwyo

    @lamh36: Not to diminish the impact on anyone with skin darker than paste, but it’s going to be open season on anyone who ever voted Democratic if there’s a conservative majority and Trump wins. I’m buying a shotgun and reviving my gun training (abiding by all laws of course). I don’t like firearms but I figure I’m going to have to get over that.

  109. 109.

    lamh36

    I saw someone say Trump can bypass the nominating process and directly put someone on the court!

     

    Is that true?

  111. 111.

    prostratedragon

    @TS (the original):  During which time he already had got Justices Sotomayor (2009) and Kagan (2010) onto the court. Justice Ginsburg had her first pancreatic cancer treatments in February 2009. Could he have got a third through in the short time before the GOP Senators dug in? Not obvious to me. I wonder what discussions might have taken place between the Justice and the Obama administration –delicate no doubt for ethical reasons, but there still might have been room for a meeting of minds.

  112. 112.

    Sure Lurkalot

    Rest In Peace, RBG.  Thank you for all you did for us.

    I so wish I could leave this country for whatever remaining time I have on this rock, but I have aged out of that option. I’m not sure what will be left worth fighting for, so much has been destroyed already.

  113. 113.

    Renie

    @PenAndKey: I feel the same way.  I plan to retire in the next 3 years and can’t stand what has happened to this country.  Yet I fear for what the future will be like for my grown children – who at this point have no interest in having children.    Climate change scares the hell out of them.

  114. 114.

    Sab

    @Nora: I don’t think it’s sad. She did what she wanted. She was on the Supreme Court for years. When she started law practice a woman being even a lawyer was unlikely, much less any judge, much less a federal judge. She did a really good job at her job.

  115. 115.

    PsiFighter37

    @lamh36: Possible a recess appointment, but that would only be temporary. I think both parties send people in these days so that there is no such thing as being in recess anymore to avoid it happening.

  116. 116.

    gwangung

    @patroclus: No, I don’t think there’s a possibility a justice will be nominated AND confirmed in the lame duck session.

    The only hope, the only way NOT to reward McConnell’s outright cheating is to expand the court.

  119. 119.

    MazeDancer

    A giant has left us.

    Heart-breaking. Impossible.

    What she told her granddaughter: “My most fervent wish is that I will not be replaced until a new president is installed.”

  122. 122.

    Poe Larity

    The reality now is that the only thing stopping Putin from poisoning Biden is that Xi would see that as open season. Not sure Merkel or Macron would have it in them.

  123. 123.

    James E Powell

    This is going to move Republicans to stick with Trump. It will be “I was thinking of voting for Biden, but with a supreme court justice on the line. We can’t let godless socialist baby killers get another justice.”

  124. 124.

    Nora

    @Sab:

    You’re right.  She was a glorious warrior for justice and I have nothing but admiration for her.  I was just thinking of her fighting all these years against cancer so she could continue to do what she was meant to do.

  126. 126.

    Anotherlurker

    May she rest in power.  We need to fight the coming rat fuckery.

    Also, may Moscow Mitch experience a sever coronary event.

  127. 127.

    cope

    I read a headline about this at Kos and blurted out exactly what I blurted out the morning I got up and saw that trump had been elected.  They were not nice words.  Beyond that string of invective, lost to this dark room I’m in (figuratively and literally), I got nothing.  I had so hoped that the last decade of my life would be easier to weather but it seems not to be.  I’m not sure how much more sucking it up and moving forward and hoping for the best and believing in the better angels of our nature I’ve got left in me.  It’s just so hard

    Edited to add an apology for making this post about me when it should not be.

  128. 128.

    Enhanced Voting Techniques

    Thereby replicating the dynamic that Senator McConnell created and the President leveraged in his campaign that it was necessary to elect him, in this case reelect him, and to reelect the GOP majority in the Senate to ensure that the Democrats don’t appoint the next Supreme Court justice,

    So Adam, how do you factor the depressed reaction the Evanglicals had over Kavanaugh in that gay right ruling earlier this year and how the Kavanaugh hearing effected the midterms?

  129. 129.

    Percysowner

    @MomSense: This time it might play against them. All those people who hated Hillary and didn’t think about the Supreme Court will also have it Front and Center. It could backfire.

  130. 130.

    MisterForkbeard

    Just popping in to say that RGB was a truly epic American, and will be missed. And now I’m off to avoid the doom porn for awhile.

    Let’s say I’ve got some hope about how this turns out and I’m not going to spend my time worrying about something I can’t change when Trump already had done so much evil. It’s one more evil thing – we’ll deal.

  131. 131.

    Elizabelle

    Grocery shopping, and come home to this.

    Rest in power, Ruth Bader Ginsburg.  Your life made a tremendous difference.

    And I am with MomSense and others:  RESIST any appointment by the current administration.  For anyone.  RBG or Thomas.

  132. 132.

    banditqueen

    Rest in power Justice Ginsburg.

    I’m contacting Chuck Schumer–he must use every trick in the book to ensure RBG’s fervent wish is fulfilled.

  134. 134.

    Captain Sunshine

    For all the good work from Justice Ginsberg, I can only say Thanks. She was inspirational and steadfast, and I appreciate her words and judgments. I’m sad to see her pass.

    It’s a damn shame that we can’t take more than a breath between a eulogy and speculation, but that’s what four decades of modern Republicanism has brought us to. We know they’re going to be as opportunistic as possible, and we have to try and see where they’ll go with this, just to feel like we have a handle on the possibilities.

    For myself, I can see McConnell either pushing through another Justice (he’ll have to call the Senate back and get the candidates off the campaign trail, which is a bad idea for several of them, but it’s a win in hand if he does), or bargaining with President-Elect Biden and a Democratic Senate to keep the filibuster in exchange for an open nomination. Stopping every Democratic initiative, when the party is finally getting more liberal, for the next two years and hoping for another 2010 election in 2022 might be enough to keep another Trump-favored RWNJ out of the seat for the immediate future. That’s assuming Biden wins. Vote, vote vote.

  137. 137.

    Steeplejack (phone)

    The next two months will be everyone going “ahem” and reposting old mitch mcconnell quotes to show how hypocritical he is while he confirms to the supreme court a 25 year old law student from 4chan.

    — wholesome on main (@InternetHippo) September 18, 2020

  141. 141.

    Nora

    @banditqueen:  Do contact him.  I wrote him and Gillibrand (my senators) to beg them to do everything humanly possible to keep McConnell from replacing Ginsburg before the new president is inaugurated.

  145. 145.

    lowtechcyclist

    This is both sad and horrible.

    It’s also gut-check time for the Democrats.  Mitch will not hesitate to confirm a Trump nominee to RBG’s seat.  He has spent the past decade or more doing whatever he wants, knowing that the Democratic response would be minimal.  And he’s almost always been right.

    He can’t be right this time.  The Democrats cannot yet again be the Doormatcrats.  They must tell Mitch that this time, if he confirms a nominee for that seat in this Congress and the Dems retake the Senate, the Democrats will expand the Supreme Court in January and deprive him of his SCOTUS majority altogether.

  146. 146.

    lamh36

    @atlantarj

    Unless they can get it done before the election, with Kelley winning in AZ (that is a special election for McCain’s seat), it would be 52-48 for the lame duck.

    2 down…2 more to go?  Romney and Collins?

  149. 149.

    CatFacts

    I think my earlier comment was too defeatist. Rest well, RBG. And may your example inspire us to fight for a better future.

  152. 152.

    Ohio Mom

    Fat Kate Middleton @85:

    Please see to it that your sister gets a second opinion! Breast cancer medicine advances at a fairly quick pace and another doctor may be more up to date. Look for a a National Cancer Institute (NCI) designated comprehensive cancer center.

    My other advice, check the discussion boards at https://community.breastcancer.org ,that is the best source of information and camaraderie I know of on the web. There is a very active Stage IV group, full of great women. You and your sister will learn a lot there, and also get solid support.

    Good luck and keep us posted.

    Ohio Mom
    Dx Jan 2013, Stage 1A

  153. 153.

    George

    I’m a long time lurker and a very infrequent commenter, but I am delurking just to say how disgusted I am by people with their defeatist, “I wish I could leave America” attitude.

    Go!  Go away now!  Never come back!  Let the people who actually care about democracy and America stay behind and do whatever we can to fight the fascist jackholes!  Live out your days in a comfortable place, safe in the knowledge that you turned your back on not only your countrymen and women, but the concept that democracy is worth fighting for.

    Honestly, the American left has far too many pansies.  Does the left in Germany, France, Russia, England, etc. etc. etc. daydream about abandoning their countries?

    Jesus, some people really need to grow a backbone.  If I didn’t know better, I’d think that the spineless contingent is nothing more than trolls sent here to demoralize the rest of us.

  155. 155.

    Adam L Silverman

    @Baud: Neal Katyal doesn’t have the common sense that someone’s, anyone’s Deity or Deities gave to the average hamster. There won’t be any court packing because even if the Democrats take the Senate, they’re going to, at best, have a very slim majority. And you’re not going to get Feinstein, Manchin, and Sinema to go along with that plan.

  156. 156.

    Chris Johnson

    The Lincoln Project exists.

    Trump’s people aren’t really Republicans. They’re Russian traitors, and it matters. We know what they’re going to do.

    We don’t know what all of the Republican Senators, heavily embattled and looking at nasty re-election campaigns, will do.

    I’m pretty sure if they side with Trump they run the risk of physical death and Trump will not protect them: he would embrace them being targeted as it would further the story he’s telling and enable him doing an authoritarian takeover, and goodbye America.

    Vs. Biden, who is offering a return to the old days when they weren’t hated so wildly.

    We don’t know how this will play out, we only know what Putin’s extensive troll network will try to TELL us is gonna play out. Buckle in. Boy is this ever a period of transition.

  157. 157.

    oldgold

     

     

    @okayhenderson

    @joniernst campaign at 7:08pm sends fundraising email with subject line, “BREAKING: the futureof the Supreme Court is on the line”

  158. 158.

    Adam L Silverman

    @🐾BillinGlendaleCA: They’ll fill the seat before the end of September so there is a full court at the start of the next term in October. Expect the nominee to be announced no later than Wednesday and McConnell to have the final vote no later than ten days later.

  159. 159.

    Karen

    She held out as long as she could. With cancer. She was selfless. I have no problem with RGB. I respect her. I don’t get why people do have a problem.

  162. 162.

    Sister Golden Bear

    As an out and proud trans woman, I’m TERRIFIED what could happen if Moscow Mitch jams through another fascist reactionary judge. I fully expect the legal rights  I just gained to be swept away—along with the rights anyone else who’s not a cis-het fundamental white man.

    Tonight I mourn and drink heavily. Tomorrow I fight. MFers don’t know what it’s like to be up against someone with nothing left to lose.

  163. 163.

    tom

    I keep reading how a Supreme Court vacancy will motivate the evangelicals. Well, it will motivate us too. This only makes me want to work even harder to elect a Democratic president and Senate.

  166. 166.

    James E Powell

    @Elizabelle:

    Doom porn? I would expect the Trump and the Republicans to make that argument explicit. The evangelicals for sure. They did in 2016, why not now?

    ETA – See oldgold’s comment above at #157. Joni Ernst is already on it.

  167. 167.

    Leto

    Haha, McConnell’s statement on RBGs passing basically says: Trumpov gets to pick the next SC no matter what.

    I’m out for the night. Time to start drinking.

  168. 168.

    Geminid

    trump will definitely want to push a nominee through. he’s desperate,  and he’ll see this a gamechanger in the presidential race, even if it’s not. And McConnell, Cruz, Cotton and the like will be on board. The question is, how many feel like Murkowski? She can speak freely because she’ll keep that Alaska seat as long as she wants. Alaskans value a Senator who delivers the goods, and she does. But I imagine others would also be glad not to have a nomination battle. They already have a conservative court. Maybe not conservative enough to overturn Roe- but I think a lot republican politicians don’t really want that, and are just shining on the pro-lifers. And court expansion is a real threat. This may come down to Senate Judiciary Chairman Grassley. I expect he’s on the phone with other senators right now. I doubt if Grassley fears trump. Or respects him. And I don’t  think trump or McConnell can do anything but piss and moan if Grassley says, No. No hearings.

  169. 169.

    Elizabelle

    @Leto:   I think we can shut this down.

    Get those GOP senators in danger on the record.  Will you support seating a new justice before 2021, after the Merrick Garland precedent?

    This could be bad for them.

    What’s more, rallying against any new Justice from this administration could get lots of people out on the street.  In DC, and in the districts.

    I am not going to go in on the doom porn, and might just have to avoid this blog (or pie a bunch of folks).

  171. 171.

    sdhays

    It occurs to me that there’s a good chance that Dump won’t just lose in historic fashion, but the Senate may also turn hard toward the Democrats in November. Obviously, the lame duck Republican Senate majority will slash and burn its way to replace RBG before December 31. But the Democrats still have one actual tool left – the real filibuster. If it comes to that, and it may, 47 Democrats can just take turns talking on the Senate floor a month and half or however long necessary to run out the clock. There’s nothing “must pass” enough to not simply shut down the lame duck Senate, and the public won’t care about any bumps by the time the next election comes around.

    It’s not going to be pretty, but we are NOT fucked.

  172. 172.

    Ohio Mom

    I’m like, “Yeah, Let’s head to the streets and let McConnell know NO WAY!” and then I remember, “Covid, pre-existing conditions, over 60, high risk, nope.”

  173. 173.

    J R in WV

    @Mathguy:

    September 18, 2020 at 7:57 pm

    Awful that she died. RIP. Awful that she was selfish enough not to retire when Obama could have replaced her with someone else that was sane as well.

    Again, fuck you very much. Ruth Baden Ginsburg was a hero, and heroes don’t quit. She had every reason to believe she was done with her cancer, it had been more than 5 years of health since her treatments ended.

    You won’t ever accomplish a fraction of what she accomplished in the past year! Into the pie safe forever, ass.

  176. 176.

    J R in WV

    @guachi:

    September 18, 2020 at 7:59 pm

    RBG’s legacy is a decades long conservative majority. That’s it.

    Thanks a lot, RBG.

    You too, fuckwad! No concept of honor or heroism. Ruth Bader Ginsburg was a hero, a concept you have no understanding of whatsoever. She worked hard all her long life and accomplished a great deal. More than can be said for you.

    You are into the pie safe forever, right now!

  177. 177.

    NoraLenderbee

    I wish I could mourn and remember her now, instead of immediately thinking of all the horrible consequences that are possible. Maybe in a few days. rest in power, RBG.

  178. 178.

    The Fat Kate Middleton

    @Ohio Mom: Thanks. She’s with Duke Medical Center (one of the best), so we’re pretty confident about that. I will, however, share your advice with her. Thanks again.

  179. 179.

    Geminid

    @Geminid: Judiciary Committee Chairman Grassley?! What a Geminidiot! Grassley took a different chairmanship. Now Graham is the Judiciary Chairman. But I still want to see what Grassley does.

  181. 181.

    J R in WV

    @lamh36:

    I saw someone say Trump can bypass the nominating process and directly put someone on the court!

     

    Is that true?

    No, it is most assuredly not true!

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