Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg died Friday at the age of 87 of complications from the recurrence of metastatic pancreatic cancer that she first revealed in July.
The New York Times and multiple sources are confirming the news, which, sadly is every conservative's wet dream while being every liberal American's nightmare.
It's doubly sad when the death a woman as powerful, brilliant, and influential as Ginsburg, and discussions of her legacy, stand to be drowned out by partisan wrangling and all out war for the next four months. But they will be. Take the time now to read the obituary prepared, clearly, with great care by Linda Greenhouse for the Times.
"Our nation has lost a jurist of historic stature,” said Chief Justice John G. Roberts Jr. in a statement. “We at the Supreme Court have lost a cherished colleague. Today we mourn, but with confidence that future generations will remember Ruth Bader Ginsburg as we knew her — a tireless and resolute champion of justice.”
Vox notes that Ginsburg had her last word on Trump last year, admitting during a talk on stage at Amherst College that she thought Trump was "an aberration." That's what we all hope against hope, right?
As everyone remembers, the death of Antonin Scalia — a longtime friend though legal-minded foe of Ginsberg — in 2016 set off an unprecedented bit of Machiavellian maneuvering by Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell. The argument was made at the time that Supreme Court appointments shouldn't be made during an election year. Now, of course, McConnell has a new hypocritical rationale: That rule he made up only counts when the party in control of the Senate is different than that of the president.
Hopefully Democrats can successfully wage war, and cowards like Susan Collins grow a pair and decide to push back on McConnell's bullshit. Or maybe a couple of other Republicans will succeed in shutting down McConnell's hopes for a conservative judicial legacy that misguided and racist people will celebrate for a generation before forgetting.
As NPR reports, Ginsburg reportedly dictated a statement to her granddaughter Clara Spera a few days before her death saying, "My most fervent wish is that I will not be replaced until a new president is installed."
Long live democracy, we hope.
If you want to wallow in your grief, go watch The Notorious R.B.G. tonight, or the fictionalized biopic, On the Basis of Sex.
Photo by Sarah Silbiger/Getty Images
