The Passing of Ruth Bader Ginsberg, Where Do We Go From Here and Some Thoughts on How it Used to Be ... before

 

A subscriber to Heather Cox Richardson’s daily “Letter to Americans” quoted the following piece which originally appeared on Facebook.  Americans should think of the questions it raises when they vote for a president shortly.  

If you are not reading Professor Richardson’s daily “Letter,” you are missing a lot.  Get to it by CLICKING HERE.

Professor Richardson’s eulogy on the passing of Justice Ruth Bader Ginsberg, posted on September 18, must be read,  It says it all.  Read it at the link provided above.   Or just CLICK HERE.

 

And here is the item which appeared on Facebook:

“I’ve been wondering why this entire country seems to be under a cloud of constant misery. 

Why we all seem to be Russians

Waiting in line for toilet paper, meat, Lysol.

Hoarding yeast and sourdough starter “in case we can’t get bread”.

Buying stamps so that one of our most beloved institutions might survive.

Why we all look like we are in bad need of a haircut, or a facial or a reason to dress up again and go somewhere.

Anywhere.

 

There is no art in this White House. There is no literature or poetry in this White House. No music. No Kennedy Center award celebrations.

There are no pets in this White House.

No loyal man’s best friend. No Socks the family cat.

No kids’ science fairs.

 

No times when this president takes off his blue suit-red tie uniform and becomes

 Human, except when he puts on his white shirt- khaki pants uniform and 

Hides from Americans to play golf. 

 

There are no images of the first family enjoying themselves together in a moment

of relaxation.  No Obama’s on the beach in Hawaii moments, nor Bushes fishing in

Kennebunkport, nor Reagans on horseback, nor Kennedys playing touch football 

on the Cape.

 

I was thinking the other day of the summer when

George H couldn’t catch a fish and all the grandkids made signs and

Counted the fish-less days.

And somehow, even if you didn’t even like GHB,

You got caught up in the joy of a family that loved each other and had fun.

 

Where did that country go? Where did all of the fun and joy and expressions of 

Love and happiness go? We used to be a country that did

The ice bucket challenge and raised millions for charity.

We used to have a president that calmed and soothed the nation

Instead dividing it.

And a First Lady that planted a garden instead of ripping one out.

 

We are rudderless and joyless.

We have lost the cultural aspects of society that make America great.

We have lost our mojo. Our fun, our happiness.

The cheering on of others.

The shared experiences of humanity that make it all worth it.

The challenges AND the triumphs that we shared and celebrated.

The unique can-do spirit Americans have always been known for.

 

We are lost.

We have lost so much

In so short a time."       

Back to Politics

And now some thoughts brought on by the day's events.  I would not bother including them at this point, but it looks like the President's gracelessness demands that I do.

Our fool of a President, Putin’s “useful idiot, didn’t have brains enough to wait at least until after Ruth Bader Ginsberg’s funeral to announce that he would be naming a replacement Supreme Court Justice soon and hoped it would shortly be voted on by the Senate.  This is a man raised in a household where love was absent and it is reflected in his every action.  Necessary to such an action would be Senate Leader Mitch McConnell, who very well may be a defeated lame-duck Senator by the time the nomination comes before the Senate for a vote.

I fully expect Trump to make his nomination.  Whether his stooges in the Senate will go along with him in sufficient numbers is another question, considering that many fought against even having  a vote on Obama’s Merrick Garland nomination because a presidential election was coming up within the year, and fairness demanded they follow the dictates of that election.  This was the position of Ted Cruz and Lindsay Graham among others in 2016.  The shoe is now on the other foot, requiring them to become hypocrites out of loyalty to Trump.  Will they?  Particularly if they are running for re-election.  It works both ways.  And how about the female Senators, who would not even be there were it not for Justice Ginsberg’s lifetime of work?  And there are those that to whom a quick nomination and vote, as Trump desires, is morally repugnant.  It was Justice Ginsberg who had, in anticipation of her passing, wanted a replacement named only after the presidential election.  Some may want to respect those wishes.  No, confirmation in the Senate of his nominee is not a sure thing.

But Trump wants it badly, and done quickly, since it is likely that the results of the presidential election will result in litigation which will end up before the Supreme Court where another conservative Justice on the bench would suit his aims just fine. 

If this happens, and that is where we end up … a Supreme Court infused with new conservative blood handing the presidency to Trump for another four  years … because of an unclear election result, made possible only because of Trump’s baseless attacks on entirely legal “vote by mail” balloting and his sabotaging of the Postal Service, the efficient operation of which is essential to voting by mail, it’s time for a new issue to be raised for Americans  And that is Emigration.  No, that is not a misspelling.  It might be time for Americans still devoted to the democracy which has flourished in our country for 231 years to consider picking up stakes and moving elsewhere.  I hope that doesn’t become necessary.

Meanwhile, it is likely that Joe Biden will get more popular votes than Trump, and if the Electoral College votes fall into place for him, and he survives post-election Trump litigation, Joe ultimately will become President and have a Democratic House and Senate to support him.   

But possibly, he still will have to deal with an ultra-conservative Supreme Court, as described above.  I see no alternative other than his going back to FDR’s failed effort to expand the number of Justices on the Supreme Court, perfectly legal if the House and the Senate go along with it.  The Constitution does not stipulate the number of Justices on the Supreme Court and a President Biden should not hesitate to nominate four or five additional Justices.  Nine is not some kind of magic number and there has not always been that number of Justices on the Supreme Court.

JL