Ruth Bader Ginsburg who served on the U.S. Supreme Court for 25 years was an avid advocate for women’s rights, liberal progressivism, the first Jewish woman to serve on the supreme court, a mother of two and known as the Notorious RBG. In light of her recent passing, there has been much controversy on who could possibly fill such an incredible woman’s shoes.
Whether you align with Democratic or Republican ideals, we should all be able to see that, despite whatever opinion you have on our current president, he should not be able to appoint a new Supreme Court justice this far into the election — not in the name of preference, but in the spirit of a fair democracy that is being disrespected by corrupt political representatives like Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky).
McConnell blocked President Obama’s pick for Supreme Court nominee eight months before the 2016 election, saying it was too close to the election day. Now, McConnell has released a public statement, provided by the Washington Post saying, “Oh well. Fill it” when asked about the opposite-party vacancy that is now unfilled during Trump’s election year.
Ginsburg died Sept. 18, only two months before the 2020 election. The bias McConnell shows by supporting his own party’s nominee when faced with a similar situation that happened during Obama’s presidency may be an easy choice to make, but this should be considered an unjust abuse of his powers against the best possible representation of the people.
In a Washington Post article, McConnel said “Americans reelected our majority in 2016 and expanded it in 2018 because we pledged to work with President Trump and support his agenda, particularly his outstanding appointments to the federal judiciary. Once again, we will keep our promise. President Trump’s nominee will receive a vote on the floor of the United States Senate.”
By furthering the appointment of a new Supreme Court judge before an important election, this action is taking away power from the people in an obviously biased convenience to conservative republicans.
Waiting until the election has drawn to a close and until all votes have been counted to have the people choose their Supreme Court replacement is also a discussed opinion circulating the media right now.
If we ever hope to become a progressive country responding to the will of the modern-day citizens of the U.S., how can we do so when our judicial system is so skewed in belief?
