RBG, July 2014: Who could Obama have nominated "that you would rather see on the court than me?"

[pnwmom]

https://www.reuters.com/article/us-usa-court-ginsburg/u-s-justice-ginsburg-hits-back-at-liberals-who-want-her-to-retire-idUSKBN0G12V020140801

Referring to the political polarization in Washington and the unlikelihood that another liberal in her mold could be confirmed by the Senate, Ginsburg, the senior liberal on the nine-member bench, asked rhetorically, “So tell me who the president could have nominated this spring that you would rather see on the court than me?”

Among those liberals who have called for Ginsburg to step down is Erwin Chemerinsky, dean of the University of California, Irvine, law school. He had asserted that only if she resigned this summer, before the November elections, could she ensure that Obama would be able to choose a successor who shares her views.

Ginsburg said on Thursday that even if she had retired, the president would have been more likely to have chosen a compromise candidate than a liberal.

Some liberals are further concerned that if she does not retire during Obama’s presidency and a Republican is elected as his successor in 2016, Ginsburg would end up being replaced by a conservative justice, moving the court even more to the right.

So, even though many Democrats were urging her to step down, she decided she was better than anyone Obama could have appointed, between 2012 and 2014, while we had a Senate majority.


https://www.huffpost.com/entry/obama-ruth-bader-ginsburg_n_6014042

And there's this, from Oct. 2014:

Ginsburg, 81, told Elle last month, “If I resign any time this year, [Obama] could not successfully appoint anyone I would like to see in the court.”

In an article for The New Yorker’s Oct. 27 issue, Jeffrey Toobin asked Obama about Ginsburg’s statement.

“Well, we’ve got a pretty good track record,” Obama said. “We’ve got a couple of Supreme Court Justices confirmed who I think are doing outstanding work. My sense is that the Senate necessarily has to treat the Supreme Court nomination process differently than the circuit- or district-court nomination process — higher profile, people are paying attention.”

Wouldn't we have been far better off with anyone Obama appointed, instead of Handmaiden Amy Coney Barrett?

To anyone who thinks RBG made the right decision, do you also think Justice Breyer should remain till the bitter end? He's only two years older than she was in 2014, and in better health.

[OAITW r.2.0]

1. What if Obama said...."Ruth, you got this"

You choose your replacement.

[pnwmom]

3. Maybe he did. n/t

[XanaDUer2]

2. Interesting post

thank you for posting it.

[Walleye]

4. I think McConnell might've blocked the nomination the way he did with Garland

[pnwmom]

8. He wasn't in charge of the Senate then. And Obama had gotten two good people through

before McConnell took over. He could have gotten a third, but Ginsburg was holding out for someone as liberal as she was.

[Walleye]

10. That's right. I had the timeline wrong, thanks

[Demsrule86]

15. He couldn't have blocked the nomination ...we lost the Senate in 14...

She should have retired before 10 and certain before 14...and now we have a 6-3 court. I fucking hope Breyer retires before 2022 or we could end up with a 7-2 court.

[Walleye]

18. Yes that's right. The real tragedy is that the Court has become so political it's beyond repair

Course that was the design of the Republicans all along. They have figured out how to rule us from a minority position and they are about to give it up

[Demsrule86]

24. I agree with you. I don't think Justice Ginsberg understood this...she was pals with some

GOP types and why not they had been on the court together for decades. The GOP has destroyed the reputation of the court.

[TomDaisy]

5. someone younger

[pnwmom]

9. Yes! Younger would have been better, even if not quite as liberal nt

[Danmel]

6. She believed her own hype

Always a dangerous thing. Had she retired early in Pres. Obama's second term, the seat could have been filled. I respected and valued Justice Ginsburg, but no one is immortal and no one should put themselves above the broader concern that a Supreme Court seat has implications for decades after the person filling it currently is gone. Had she stepped down we wouldn't have Amy Coney Barrett, who was the deciding vote to allow the Texas law to stand. I don't like turning anyone, whether it is Justice Ginsburg or Alex Trebek in to these saint-like objects.
There are real world consequences and we are experiencing them now.

[USAFRetired_Liberal]

7. I agree with you

[enough]

14. Yes. NT

[XanaDUer2]

21. Yes nt

[ecstatic]

11. I think there should be term limits and

age limits as well. Some people become blinded to their own shortcomings as they age and you can't tell them anything because they think they know everything. RBG was a wonderful justice, but she was wrong for not stepping down sooner.

[Crunchy Frog]

12. I've always felt that way.

I was upset that she didn't resign before the 2012 election, given her health issues, and understanding that there was no guarantee that Obama would be reelected.

I was astounded that she insisted on staying past the point where she would be guaranteed to have her replacement chosen by a Democratic president.

It would have been different if she'd posessed an immortality elixir, but those don't exist in the real world.

Now her legacy will be completely erased, and we have to live with the consequences, and she doesn't.

I have not been feeling very warmly towards Justice Breyer either, though I guess there's some hopeful signs that he may end up doing the right thing while there's still time.

I almost never express these views here, because people who do normally get raked over the coals for it.

I'm going for it now though. Flame away at me.

[pnwmom]

13. I think that everybody who was urging her to retire between 2012 and 2014

remembers how frustrating that was. So there are more people like us than you might think.

And I DON'T want Justice Breyer to follow in her footsteps!

[Demsrule86]

17. Me either...we could end up with a 7-2 court. I know Justice Ginsberg meant well but consider

the Texas ruling was 5/4. Had she been replaced by a Democratic president this ruling would not have happened. Roe would not be on life support.

[Demsrule86]

16. I completely agree with you personally. I loved Justice Ginsberg but I would be lying if I didn't

say I can't believe she didn't resign when President Obama could have replaced her.

[Elessar Zappa]

19. I won't condemn RBG.

She did more to advance progressive causes than anyone complaining about her on this board, I’d wager. She had every right to stay on as the Court for as long as she felt able. If people didn’t want a Republican replace her then they shouldn’t have thrown a tantrum and vote for Stein or stay home in 2016.

[pnwmom]

26. She did more to advance progressive causes. And now we're at risk of losing most of that.

She had more power than any of us to assure that a good Justice would replace her. She sabotaged her own legacy by her decision to take a chance on being replaced by someone like Barrett.

[XanaDUer2]

20. Kick nt

[Lancero]

22. Friend of mine lost both parents this year, mid 60's.

Father to a heart attack, mother to a failed stent. No prior health issues, his dad just dropped over at work and his mom didn't wake up one morning.

60 isn't as young as it used to be.

Kaegan and Sotomayor are at that age, maybe they should step down and let Biden appoint replacements. Can't risk them dying in 2024 should a Republican take over afterall.

[pnwmom]

25. 81 with 2 previous types of cancers is a lot worse. But if any liberal knows about a health issue

that is very serious, they should think about stepping down.

[Percy]

23. This is just brutal.

Hubris is one of the worst of human qualities.

[XanaDUer2]

27. I guess we'll never know nt