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She was a presence so towering in our culture she only needed three letters: RBG.
Ruth Bader Ginsburg, U.S. Supreme Court justice and progressive icon, died last night from complications of metastatic pancreatic cancer. She was 87.
In a
statement, Chief Justice John Roberts said, “Our Nation has lost a
jurist of historic stature,” but that “future generations will remember
Ruth Bader Ginsburg as we knew her—a tireless and resolute champion of
justice.”
Some background
Ginsburg was appointed to the country’s highest court in 1993 by President Clinton, but even before that she had built up a reputation as a fighter for women’s rights.
- She was the first female
tenured professor at Columbia Law school, and as the director of the
ACLU’s Women’s Rights Project, RBG argued sex discrimination cases
before the very court she would be appointed to later on.
On the business side, Ginsburg was the court’s most aggressive defender of copyright, per the WSJ. She picked up the interest from her daughter, Jane, an IP expert at Columbia.
The Notorious R.B.G.
In her later years, RBG earned rock-star status among progressives for her fierce commitment to liberal principles.
- You may have seen a few recent films about her: RBG and On the Basis of Sex.
- She’s been portrayed in countless memes, t-shirts, and SNL skits—can't say the same of most Supreme Court justices.
Big picture
Ginsburg’s
death has profound implications for U.S. politics. President Trump and
Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell will race to add a conservative
justice to the court to pad their existing advantage, despite McConnell
refusing to consider an Obama Supreme Court nominee in 2016 because it
was an election year.
- In a statement released
last night, McConnell said, “President Trump’s nominee will receive a
vote on the floor of the United States Senate."
That’s not
what RBG had in mind. In a statement dictated to her granddaughter a few
days ago, she said, "My most fervent wish is that I will not be
replaced until a new president is installed,” according to NPR.
Bottom line: Ginsburg’s death, while heartbreaking to many Americans, will also serve as a call-to-action 45 days ahead of the election.
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