Ignoring the Last Wish of Ruth Bader Ginsburg

 My most fervent wish is that I will not be replaced until a new president is installed.

Ruth Bader Ginsburg

Unfortunately Justice Ginsburg's last wish is being utterly ignored by nearly every republican residing in the greater Washington D.C. metro area. In fact, Donald J. Trump, proving himself once again to be the conspiracy theorist in chief, has claimed Ms. Ginsburg might not have even uttered those words. According to El Don they were, "probably," concocted by either Chuck Schumer, or Nancy Pelosi. 

Well you can say a lot of things about Mr. Trump, but you'll never be able to accuse him of being at a loss for words, or fantastic fables that satisfy the faithful's lust for dark phantasms. 

If Trump and Mitch McConnell do push through a replacement for Ginsburg it will mean the current President will have named a third of the Supreme Court during his first term. That's in addition to 53 judges of the U.S. courts of appeals, 151 federal district judges, and two judges to the United States Court of International Trade.

No wonder the man loves to sue everybody who sneezes his way. There are a huge number of jurists out there who owe their jobs to him. And don't think he is, or will ever be shy about pointing it out to them before their courts convene.

Trump's need for speed is to be expected. Let's face it, after four years of dealing with the Putin wannabe anything less than a brute power grab would be surprising. Even less shocking is McConnell's 180 degree turn from four years ago when he blocked Barack Obama's nomination of Merrick Garland.

The excuse McConnell used then was it isn't proper for a President to nominate a Supreme Court Justice during an election year--you know--like 2020. He later bragged the proudest moment of his political career was when he told Obama, Garland's nomination would never make it to the floor of the Senate while he was in charge.

All that bullshit is gone now. The GOP's urgency to get someone in that seat, even before Ginsburg is in the ground, is palpable. Mitch and his crew can read polls along with the rest of us. He knows a Trump defeat isn't a sure thing, although right now the odds aren't promising for The Big Orange Guy. Indeed, do it now, because if Trump becomes a lame duck president and--even worse--McConnell loses control of the Senate getting a nominee approved is going to be a nightmare.

Assuming there aren't any democrats who vote to confirm, four additional Senators will be needed to block the impending nominee, whoever it is. Susan Collins, R-ME who promises much, but delivers very little has pledged not to vote for anyone until after the election. So has Alaska's Lisa Murkowski. Mitt Romney, who is the only republican to vote yea on an article of impeachment has denied reports he has made the same decision.

If democrats can stave off a pre election Senate confirmation democrat Mark Kelly has republican Martha McSally in trouble out in Arizona. Since it is a, "special election," if Kelly wins he will be sworn in immediately after November third which will reduce the magic number to three.

There is a kicker in all this though. Collins is in a tight race this year. That means she will probably keep her word about not voting before the election. However, if she loses she might just decide, screw it, then vote for anything, or anyone Trump wants before January third when she is shown the door.

Hey, why not? She is probably too wishy washy to land a job at FOX and she's lied too many times to catch on at either MSNBC, or CNN.

Whatever the case, Donald Trump's ego demands he remake the Supreme Court in his own image. The same image he wants carved onto Mt. Rushmore. The same image that has become a cult icon to millions of Americans.

sic vita est

9-21-20