Thread by @Dreamweasel

ME: (straps Stephen Breyer to a chair with eyelids pulled apart, Clockwork Orange-style, and forces him to re-watch entirety of yesterday’s Supreme Court hearing)

BREYER:

ME:

BREYER:

ME: WELL?!

BREYER: (chuckles) I’ve never given much thought to other people’s opinions of me

This won’t be news to a lot of people, but the Supreme Court is now so nakedly partisan that it has become the duty of all existing Justices to retire while their own Party has the Presidency.

And it’s ironic that our eldest judges are the least inclined to embrace that reality.

Justice Ginsburg turned 80 & was having health problems while Obama was President. Her refusal to retire was unquestionably a gamble.

What’s done is done. I didn’t fully appreciate the consequences of her actions at the time. But how can we fail to learn from her example now?

In 2014, Ginsburg was quoted on this issue: “Who are you going to get who will be better than me?”

If I’m being glib, I’d say the correct answer was: “A 50-year-old judge who agrees with you.”

Sorry, but it’s turf war now. Wisdom & expertise are secondary to physical longevity.

I really don’t mean to drag RBG. Her life was groundbreaking & inspirational, and I hate that her legacy is tainted by an unwise decision she made toward the end.

But if we’re stuck in this partisan SCOTUS tug-of-war, we’re going to have to be smarter about how we respond to it.