During late last Friday, the announcement of the unfortunate passing of Ruth Bader Ginsburg was announced. All condolences for Ruth Bader Ginsburg’s family during these tough times. Due to the effect of Ruth Bader Ginsburg’s death, the supreme court has now had a vacancy and this vacancy has to be filled, leading to the upcoming conflict that is going to ensue in Washington.

Public Reactions to the Death and Ruth Bader Ginsburg’s Accomplishments:

The public reactions were of great sympathy for Ruth Bader Ginsburg and her family, and both political party leader’s would give respect to the former supreme court justice. The reaction was to appreciate the sacrifices that she made throughout her life, and included a funeral ceremony to commemorate her life. Ruth Bader Ginsburg has appeared in front of the court for people to give condolences to her family.

Throughout Ruth Bader Ginsburg’s career, she advocated for women’s rights. Examples of fighting for women’s rights. She wrote the majority opinion in United States vs Virginia, stating that women could not be denied going into the Virginia Military Institute. Ginsburg when after issues on at a time to stop constant discrimination that affected women. She also worked with President Obama and helped pass the Lilly Ledbetter Fair Pay Act which bolstered worker protections against sex based discrimination. 

The Courts Before This Event:

Before the passing of Ruth Bader Ginsburg, the Supreme Court was mostly split between five republican appointments and four democratic appointments. Due to the politicization of the Supreme Court, these individual votes became partisan and along party lines. Ruth Bader Ginsburg, appointed by Bill Clinton and was generally viewed as part of the liberal wing of the court. The Supreme Court due to these times remained pretty balanced, because Chief Justice John Roberts was perceived as a moderate who has remained ideologically independent, so many issues could be decided by his swing vote.

The Spark of a New Debate, How Should The Vacancy Be Filled?:

To start off with, the way Supreme Court seats are decided seems very complex to many people. Firstly, the nominated judge is chosen by the President or the executive branch, and the nominee is decided by the Senate. Each senator decides if the judge is qualified to their standards, and the Senate would usually have to vote based on a two-third majority to pass the judicial nominee to the court. However, in recent years it usually comes down to a simple majority due to the prevalence of the nuclear option, which grants the power for the Senate to choose nominees based on a fifty vote majority. 

Due to the following vacancy within the Supreme Court, this would motivate the Senate Majority, or Republican leadership to find a current judicial appointment. President Trump will be naming his nominee on the Saturday, September 26th in order to solidify his party’s want to have a substantial conservative majority on the court. 

However, in 2016, when Justice Scalia died, Republicans clearly did not want to have a liberal leaning court because Obama could decide that he wanted to appoint somebody to the court. This eventually led to the blocking of any nomination hearings from any of Barack Obama’s choices in nominees, due to several Republican lawmakers stating that court vacancies should not be decided within an election year.

The idea of a new judicial nominee for the Supreme Court being decided a month before the election, and probably have the final vote for the current nominee to be decided a couple days before the election, or even during a lame-duck session when the election officially ends. 

Lastly, the debate also ensues during these Supreme Court nominations because of the incoming political divisions when it comes to key issues among the electorate. The issue of abortion, and Roe v. Wade has been highlighted as a key issue among many people while other issues including the 2nd Amendment and corporate financing are also important. All of these issues will be impacting how other people vote in the upcoming Supreme Court fight. 

Where The Votes Stand Right Now:

Based on the recent news coverage, Republicans have fallen into party lines with the confirmation vote being decided to support Trump’s nomination. Senators Mitt Romney and Cory Gardner who the questions were on if they would support the nomination turned out to be in full support of the confirmation vote. The only Republican senators who differed from their party were Senators Lisa Murkowski and Susan Collins responded by not voting for the nomination until after the election.

So, as of this article was written, Republicans have secured the votes behind them, with over 50 votes that would be supporting Trump’s upcoming nominee. The party lines and talking points paint a very clear picture that the vote will be decided a couple days before the election, and a new appointment to the court seems inevitable as of right now. 

How Will This Affect the Upcoming November Election and For the Long Term:

Based on this hectic year, anything can happen, even when the democrats standing an extremely good position in pollster data included the aggregate for Five Thirty Eight and Real Clear Politics. This includes the short term effects, which surprisingly benefit the Democrats. ActBlue, a huge donation group for the DNC, recording over $1.5 million donations from among Democrat supporters, after the death of Ruth Bader Ginsburg.

This in turn affects the upcoming Senate Races around the United States due to the incoming amount of cash from the Democratic Party which would benefit their candidates. This also puts several candidates in competitive seats in a tough position because they would have to either support or oppose the nomination which would fully show their cards among the electorate. This would make Senators like Cory Gardner and Susan Collins in competitive seats to probably have a tougher time to win re-election due to having to pick a side on the issue, which either alienates their base of support or even among undecided voters.

Conclusion:

In conclusion, the upcoming court fight that is going to ensue among the Senate and future nominations will ensue, which would further the divisions fueled by this election. The court process will continue and a nominee for the court vacancy will be picked. Will you turn on the news to find out the conclusion to the unpredictability of this incoming nomination?