What does losing RBG mean for the U.S.?

The Supreme Court of the United States, and the country, mourns the loss of the great civil rights advocate Ruth Bader Ginsburg. She was a staunch women’s rights activist, though her legacy remains teetering on the balance beam of history. Right now, lawmakers desperate to get a conservative justice on the court are in a fervent hyperpartisan push to fill the vacant seat of the supposedly nonpartisan branch of the United States government.

The motives of the leaders elected by the voice of the people are in question. Members of congress blocking the appointment of a new justice under the Obama administration following the death of Antonin Scalia are now pushing to instill a new justice with weeks to go until the November elections.

Lindsay Graham, once outspoken Trump critic and defender of that antic, now will support Trump, “in any effort to move forward regarding the recent vacancy created by the passing of Justice Ginsburg.”

President Donald Trump has compiled a list of 20 people who he would like nominated to fill that seat, including Ted Cruz, long time ally of his administration, as well as Tom Cotton, who has been a long time pro-war advocate, alongside Noel Francisco, former Solicitor General of the United States who helped defend Donald Trump from releasing his tax returns.

What does this mean for our country? A long time defender of civil rights for women, Native Americans, and LGBT members of our society will likely be replaced by a man who wants to drive their political agenda instead of defending the freedoms that Ruth Bader Ginsburg fought her entire life for. That is hardly a way to honor the legacy of one of the longest serving justices. That is going to force the highest law of the land to the right further than it is even now, with potentially five conservative justices overpowering the three liberals.

In an election, which is increasingly close and both sides ready their armaments against each other, our civil rights are being questioned and our nonpartisan Supreme Court is up for grabs by the Republican Party. Let’s choose to honor Ruth Bader Ginsburg and delay nominating a new justice until after the election.