RBG is Notorious and Fabulous

Justice Ginsburg of the U.S. Supreme Court has embarrassed all by making very dumb political statements about me. Her mind is shot - resign!

— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) July 13, 2016

Ruth Bader Ginsburg is not senile, but I can imagine she might think about retirement a little bit--maybe. So, let's say she resigned. Would she be replaced as "quickly" as Scalia was? (Hasn't been?) I would say Ginsburg on her worst day is much sharper than Trump ever was or is going to be.

Oh, and also, is it wrong to make a statement about a person (like Trump) being actively harmful for this country, when they actually are? Because I don't think one needs to be biased to note that Donald Trump doesn't have any particular qualifications for the job he's running for. And he is sowing discontent and even encouraging violence and bigotry. It's not like she's even the first Supreme Court justice who has gotten political. But I've seen a bit of hand-wringing over whether she has violated some kind of cherished SCOTUS "norm".

Oh, please!  The court she's currently sitting on is stuck at eight justices because the GOP-majority Congress decided that not even hearing out President Obama's nominee, Merrick Garland, in Obama's last year in office is a "norm" (of somewhat recent vintage). What kind of "norm" was the 5-4 decision that put Mr. Obama's predecessor in the White House? What kind of norms are we looking at when there has been unprecedented obstruction during this President's term regarding any federal court nominations?

She has great reason to be concerned about an apparently uninformed and easily manipulated schmendrick filling appointments in a way that curries favor with his party's base, which is, in a word, batshit. He doesn't seem to have a great familiarity with the Constitution or this country's history, as actual historians are willing to attest.

Let's be honest--RBG is an accomplished jurist and a fine intellect. I don't doubt that she knows exactly why she is making the criticisms of Trump that she is, out loud where the people can hear. It is not because she is losing her mind (although it is gross and ageist that this is the conclusion that Trump immediately jumps to) that she is so frank--it's because the time has come for people to get very honest about what they stand for, and what they will not stand for.

She knows what Trump is about, and she isn't standing for it. And I salute her whole-heartedly.