The passing of Ruth Bader Ginsburg could have a tremendous effect on the nation for decades to come. Ginsburg, known for her propensity to fight for women’s rights and against discrimination, helped to pass significant laws in the Supreme Court that benefited women and minorities.
However, with her passing, the Republican members of the U.S. Senate are looking to vote in her successor weeks before the 2020 presidential election.
The swift push to name her successor comes four years after Republicans in the U.S. Senate would not confirm President Barack Obama’s Supreme Court nominee, Merrick Garland.
Obama responded to Ginsburg passing by writing on social media,“From the tiniest trick-or-treaters to law students burning the midnight oil to the most powerful leaders in the land. Justice Ginsburg helped us see that discrimination on the basis of sex isn’t about an abstract ideal of equality; that it doesn’t only harm women; that it has real consequences for all of us. It’s about who we are — and who we can be.”
Before her passing, Clara Spera told NPR that Ginsburg said, “My most fervent wish is that I will not be replaced until a new president is installed.”
Obama believes that her wish be honored.
“A basic principle of the law — and of everyday fairness — is that we apply rules with consistency, and not based on what’s convenient or advantageous in the moment,” Obama wrote. “The rule of law, the legitimacy of our courts, the fundamental workings of our democracy all depend on that basic principle.”
