11/10/16 UPDATE: Yup, we’re all totally fucked.
Alternative Headline: Brilliant Jurist Calls out Hateful, Fascistic Ignoramus; Madness Ensues.
Perhaps RBG now thinks her comments regarding Donald Trump were ill-advised, but I cannot agree.
What has come of our society and our politics when someone who has proudly espoused policies that can only be fairly described as fascistic–including instituting a religious test for entry into the country, building a wall along our borders to keep out “rapists,” and torturing our enemies, not to mention…well, everything else–is treated, more or less, like just another political candidate? In most cases, I would agree that Supreme Court justices shouldn’t freely criticize partisan politicians as such. Indeed, if the Republican nominee is elected president, it could present problems for Justice Ginsburg if cases involving his administration come before the Court.
But let’s not forget: if Donald Trump is elected, we’re all totally fucked. Which I think was RBG’s point.
Adolf Hitler became chancellor of Germany through established democratic processes. Does that mean the democratic process was “good” in that case, or that it “worked,” or that it should not be criticized? Does history look unkindly those who criticized Hitler’s rise or tried to stop him from becoming chancellor? I don’t think so.
Donald Trump probably isn’t the next Hitler, even if he were elected—at least not in a one-to-one comparison regarding the likelihood of large scale genocide. But personally, I am against any amount of fascism. And while I think anyone who wants to be president is likely to be at least somewhat narcissistic, someone suffering from full blown narcissistic personality disorder, and who is manifestly bereft of any hint of moral fiber, should not hold the most powerful position in the world.
That anyone treats the possibility of a Trump presidency as acceptable, as something not to constantly decry as a potential catastrophe for the nation, is but another sign of the sorry state of our politics. It certainly isn’t fair to criticize RBG for merely pointing to what should be frighteningly obvious to everyone.
To repeat: Ginsburg/Sotomayor 2016!
