Supreme Court Associate Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg, bless her heart, is finishing 25 years on the Court, and 38 years in total in the federal court system, having been appointed by President Jimmy Carter in 1980 to the US Court of Appeals for the DC Circuit, and then elevated to the Supreme Court by President Bill Clinton in 1993.
She has become a “rock star”, often called “the notorious RBG” in recent years, after the publication of a biography by a scholar in 2015.
She has survived bouts with colon cancer in 1999 and pancreatic cancer in 2009. and the death of her husband in 2010, days after their 56th wedding anniversary.
Through it all, she has stood up for the rights of minorities, women, gays and lesbians, the disabled, workers, consumers, environmentalists, and all other causes that fight against the enemies of civil rights, civil liberties, and social justice.
At age 85, she has had a stent put in her right coronary artery, and she has had a strict regimen of exercise for many years.
The question is whether Ginsburg can hang on and stay in office until 2021, when she would be 88 years old, and hopefully, a Democratic President could replace her after 28 years on the Court.
Ginsburg herself has said she plans to stay to the age of 90, the age that former Justice John Paul Stevens, now 98 and thriving, was when he left the Court in 2010.
Let’s go back to the archives.
From “Bunning counting Justice Ginsburg’s days,†February 22, 2009, @ http://thehill.com/homenews/news/18365-bunning-counting-justice-ginsburgs-days , comes this:
“Sen. Jim Bunning (R-Ken.) warned a Kentucky GOP group Saturday [February 21, 2009] that the fight over a new [U.S.] Supreme Court justice could come soon as Associate Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg is likely to die shortly.
In a speech to the Hardin County Republican Party at the group’s annual Lincoln Day Dinner, Bunning said Ginsburg has ‘bad cancer. The kind that you don’t get better from,’ according to a report in the [‘Louisville Courier-Journal’].â€
Jim Bunning, a former Major League Baseball [MLB] pitcher-turned-politician (his first election to office was in 1977), was driven away from trying to seek re-election to the U.S. Senate in 2010. (Now-majority leader Mitch McConnell told Bunning to not run.) His successor is Rand Paul, who was first elected in 2010 and won re-election in 2016. Jim Bunning died at age 85 on May 26, 2017 (@ http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jim_Bunning ).
Thanks, D, for reminding us of the despicable Senator Jim Bunning of Kentucky, predicting Ginsburg’s death.
Bunning was a great pitcher for the Detroit Tigers and Philadelphia Phillies, and a Baseball Hall of Famer, but an absolutely horrendous human being, one of the worst Senators in modern and all of American history!
I condemned him on February 23, 2009, for his statements about Justice Ginsburg, and on August 29, 2009, I rated him one of the 17 worst Senators of all time!
There are many other entries on this blog that have similar denunciations of Bunning, and it is Karma that Bunning has passed away in 2017, and Ginsburg is still on the Court!
Ugh! Justice Kennedy has decided to retire, which means Trumpty Dumbty will appoint someone who will attack abortion rights, gay rights, etc.
Yes, Former Republican, very disturbing!
And he or she will side with Trump in the Russia case!
Excellent comment from Tom Perez:
From Democratic National Committee Chair Tom Perez:
DNC Chair on the Retirement of Justice Anthony Kennedy
DNC Chair Tom Perez released the following statement after Supreme Court Justice Anthony Kennedy announced his retirement:
“If there was ever any question whether the November elections would be the most important of our lifetime, Justice Kennedy’s retirement should remove all doubt. Democrats and Republicans should reject any nominee who won’t uphold our constitution and our basic human rights, and who would vote to overturn Roe v. Wade. We must make our voices heard at the ballot box for the millions of American families who are counting on us.
“So if you believe immigrant families belong together, vote for Democrats in November.
“If you believe in a woman’s right to choose and a worker’s right to bargain, vote for Democrats in November.
“If you believe health care is a right for all, vote for Democrats in November.
“If you believe a Muslim ban is fundamentally un-American, vote for Democrats in November.
“If you believe in full equality for LGBTQ people in all areas of our society, vote for Democrats in November.
“If you believe Dreamers should be able to stay and contribute to the only country they call home, vote for Democrats in November.
“If you believe climate change is an urgent threat to our economy, our environment, and our children’s future, vote for Democrats in November.
“If you believe our leaders should put people before corporations, vote for Democrats in November.
“If you believe we should make ​it easier for people to vote, not harder, vote for Democrats in November.
“Elections have consequences. The last Supreme Court vacancy was brazenly stolen by shameless Republican leaders with no respect for American democracy. We cannot let that happen again. In November, you won’t just be deciding the next Congress, you will be deciding the direction America goes in for the next half-century. If the last year and a half has made you angry, organize for Democrats, vote for Democrats, and elect Democrats up and down the ballot – from the school board to the Senate.â€
http://bluevirginia.us/2018/06/dnc-chair-tom-perez-the-last-supreme-court-vacancy-was-brazenly-stolen-by-shameless-republican-leaders-with-no-respect-for-american-democracy
Totally agree with this!
http://bluevirginia.us/2018/06/if-millions-of-dems-hadnt-sat-home-in-2000-2004-2010-2014-2016-we-could-have-an-8-1-liberal-scotus
Yes, Rational Lefty, absolutely!