The game is turned upside again. Ruth Bader Ginsburg, a liberal Justice and a heroine of female empowerment died on Friday. Which is, for Republicans, who preach the sanctity of life above of all, is just a side note next to the event of real importance: a Supreme Court seat has just freed up. Mitch McConnell didn't miss a beat and vowed to fill the vacancy with a conservative judge. In 2016 McConnel denied Obama the nomination of a new Justice, nine months before the election on the grounds that it's improper to fill up a Supreme Court seat in an election year. Lindsay Graham said it on tape that it's a matter of principle, and the Democrats can use his own words against him if they shoe ever gets on the other foot. Today it did, and the flagship of the moderate Right, the National Review, argues that those words don't count, because the 2016 explanation was only the second most important argument against the nomination. Or maybe because it was the second Tuesday of the month.
No one is surprised, but it's hard to suppress the gag-reflex.
How does it affect the coming elections and what does it say about the GOP? First of all, I think there are two, seemingly competing, agendas in the GOP. One is Trump's, who obviously wants reelection. The other is of the Republican leadership, most notably Mitch McConnell - whose job description has always been delivering judges and being a sanctimonious prick. If they kept the nomination open until after the election, that could be used to force the reluctant Republicans to vote again for Trump. This is what Trump would want, I think. On the other hand, the fact the McConnell and Graham acted so quickly and firmly suggests that they don't trust in their chances to be around after 2021 January. They want to cement their legacy while they still can.
What particularly irks me is that if the GOP gets their third Justice, they will use it in decades to come as a justification for the 4-year whoring for Trump. Yeah, it was ugly, but we did it for the higher good. Gag-reflex again.
As for how it affects the election, I think no one knows. It can energize Republican voters who can feel redeemed. It can also give them the excuse to sit out this election - we got 3 Justices, that was worth it, but it's enough. It can fill Democrat voters with noble rage and drive them to the voting booths. Or, maybe most probably, it won't have an effect at all. Maybe the Supreme Court is only relevant for the top 5% of informed voters.
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