Tributes pour in following the passing of Ruth Bader Ginsburg
Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg, 87, passed away yesterday after battling metastatic pancreatic cancer. The “Notorious RBG” was revered due to her long history on the bench and for inspiring multi-generations in the fight for gender equality.
Prior to being named to the Supreme Court in 1993 by then President Bill Clinton, she had served on the U.S. Court of Appeals in Washington D.C. after being appointed to that post by President Jimmy Carter in 1980. A historic and powerful footnote in the life and times of Ruth Bader Ginsburg is that she graduated first in her class in 1959 from Harvard Law School, but couldn’t find a job with any law firms because she was a woman – which probably cemented her fight for women’s equality.
She ended up teaching at Rutgers Law School from 1963 through 1972 and also at Columbia from 1972 through 1980.
Almost immediately following the announcement of her death, crowds of mourners gathered on the steps of the Supreme Court Building in Washington, D.C. last night. Those gathering to pay tribute to only the second woman in history to be named to the Supreme Court, left flowers, and lit candles on the steps of that iconic building where Ginsburg had worked since 1993.
And from Nancy Pelosi to Mariah Carrey to Donald Trump, tributes also poured into the social media outlets.
And as is the new normal in this day and age, Ginsburg’s death immediately became politicized as her passing opened up a vacancy in the Supreme Court. About two hours after Ginsburg’s passing was announced, Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell said that he would move the Senate forward during this election year to vote on whoever Donald Trump would nominate to replace her – although McConnell torpedoed President Barack Obama’s 2016 effort to nominate Merrick Garland to the Supreme Court using the argument that 2016 was an election year.
In 2016, holding up that nomination of Merrick Garland, McConnel said: “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.” McConnell then refused to hold any hearings regarding that nomination.
Ginsburg’s dying wish? “My most fervent wish is that I will not be replaced until a new president is installed.”
~ Posted by Richard Webster, Ace News Today / Connect with Richard on Facebook and Twitter
