Fewer than 24 hours following the death of Ruth Bader Ginsberg, U.S. Supreme Court (SCOTUS) Justice, some Americans took to social media to threaten violence should the next Supreme Court Justice not reflect their political leanings.
The passionate outcry hinges around who gets to select the next SCOTUS Justice. Should President Trump, in his remaining time during his first term, choose, or should the process wait until the next President is elected, or re-elected?
According to one passionate Twitter activist, @EagleGlock88, if hearings are held for the new Supreme Court Justice too soon, we can expect violence:
”We are so screwed it’s not even funny. If GOP forces a nominee through before Jan 21, 2021, we riot.”
#TrumpKnew that Ruth Bader Ginsburg was dying. That’s why we got those wonderful Justice Ted Cruz speculations last week. We are so screwed it’s not even funny. If GOP forces a nominee through before Jan 21, 2021, we riot. #RBG #RuthBaderGinsburgRIP #2020worstyear
— EagleGlock88 (Fewest Followers) (@EagleGlock88) September 19, 2020
As Majority Leader of the U.S. Senate, Senator Mitch McConnell sets the calendar for the Senate and will determine when the next SCOTUS candidate will be considered. He has vowed President Trump’s nominee will be considered:
“President Trump’s nominee will receive a vote on the floor of the United States Senate.”
The Senate and the nation mourn the passing of Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg and the conclusion of her extraordinary American life.
My full statement: pic.twitter.com/NOwYLhDxIk
— Leader McConnell (@senatemajldr) September 19, 2020
However, those social media warriors continue with their threats. @realaslan, a twitter activist with more than 1,000 followers, tweeted:
“If they even TRY to replace RBG we burn the entire fucking thing down.”
To better grasp the extreme emotions and reaction by left-leaning activists, see the video posted on Benny Goodman’s twitter account, @benny.
The current state of the Left:
Be prepared, it’s going to get worse.
— Benny (@bennyjohnson) September 19, 2020
Johnson’s comment?
“Be prepared, it’s going to get worse.”
Democratic leaders and a few Republican leaders joined the fray, stating their intent to abstain from a vote or refusal to participate in the hearing.
Many dissenters are reminding McConnell of his own 2016 remarks, opting to postpone the selection of a replacement for the Justice position previously held by Justice Antonin Scalia, who died February 2016 just nine months prior to the 2016 presidential election.
Senator McConnell set a precedent during President Barack Obama’s term by refusing to begin Senate hearings on a SCOTUS Justice nominee until the presidential election occurred, stating that the nomination was too close to a presidential election.
L.E. Bassett, a journalist for GQ magazine living in New York, predicted violence if McConnell follows through on his plan to initiate the hearings on a new SCOTUS Justice nominee, tweeting:
“If McConnell jams someone through, which he will, there will be riots.”
If McConnell jams someone through, which he will, there will be riots.
— Laura Bassett (@LEBassett) September 18, 2020
Wisconsin Black Lives Matter supporter and podcast host Scott Ross, boasting more than 6,000 followers on Twitter, added his two cents:
“If you can’t shut it down, burn it down.”
Fucking A, Ed.
If you can’t shut it down, burn it down. https://t.co/sZCyYxowGk
— Scot Ross (@rossacrosswi) September 19, 2020
University of Waterloo political science professor Emmett Macfarlane chimed in elsewhere:
“Burn Congress down before letting Trump try to appoint anyone to SCOTUS.”
Politicians were quick to jump on the tirade from the left, including Senator Chuck Schumer. With absolutely no expression of condolences for the deceased, Schumer immediately launched into political posturing to postpone the selection of the next Justice until after the upcoming presidential election.
“The American people should have a voice in the selection of their next Supreme Court Justice,” Schumer tweeted. “Therefore, this vacancy should not be filled until we have a new president.”
The American people should have a voice in the selection of their next Supreme Court Justice. Therefore, this vacancy should not be filled until we have a new president.
— Chuck Schumer (@SenSchumer) September 18, 2020
Why is RBG’s Successor So Important?
Ruth Bader Ginsberg, affectionately known as RBG (or RGB), was only the second woman to ever sit on SCOTUS and a staunch liberal.
As most Americans know, the U.S. Supreme Court is made up of nine justices, with life-long appointments. A majority of Republican-nominated justices means decisions usually favor the more conservative, right-leaning party.
Thus, if President Donald Trump nominates the next Supreme Court Justice, his (presumed) right-leaning candidate will replace a left-leaning Justice, and future decisions likely will support Christian and conservative positions.
President Trump has made no secret of his candidates for a Justice nominee. Soon after his election in 2016, President Trump published a list of individuals he would consider should a federal bench opening occur.
The legal experts on this list, last updated by President Trump September 9, are now the subject of discussion and evaluation by those concerned about the make-up of the next SCOTUS bench.
Prior to Ginsberg’s passing, the decisions made by SCOTUS leaned slightly left, although not radically.
While Chief Justice John Roberts was appointed by a Republican, President George W. Bush, his decisions have leaned toward more liberal outcomes. Thus, currently, there are eight Justices, with four generally supporting conservative doctrine and four generally supporting more liberal outcomes.
If Trump’s nomination is approved by the Republican-led Senate, in the short timeframe before the presidential election in November, or even in the lame duck session prior to January 20 and the new (or re-elected) president taking office, future SCOTUS findings should lean toward a conservative ideology.
The reality is, however, according to the Congressional Research Service, the average number of days from nomination to final Senate vote since 1975 is 67 days (2.2 months), while the median is 71 days (or 2.3 months). That means a nomination next week, September 25, should on average last until November 20.
The question as to when to begin the hearings on the nomination of the next SCOTUS Justice is the object of much debate.
Katie Wadington of USA Today compares the situation of this selection process with that of the 2016 hearings.
In a rally speech soon after Ginsberg’s death, after paying tribute to Ginsberg Trump noted that the next president may be tasked with as many as four appointments to the nine-member court, whose members are confirmed for life. Trump said:
“This is going to be the most important election in the history of our country and we have to get it right.”
Whether pro-Trump or not, conservative Americans must agree that the next President will surely shape the future doctrine of American law. That makes the next election more important than ever.
Rest In Peace, Ruth Bader Ginsberg
President Trump released a statement yesterday, calling Ginsberg “a titan of the law”:
“Renowned for her brilliant mind and her powerful dissents at the Supreme Court, Justice Ginsburg demonstrated that one can disagree without being disagreeable toward one’s colleagues or different points of view. Her opinions, including well-known decisions regarding the legal equality of women and the disabled, have inspired all Americans, and generations of great legal minds.”
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