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07.14.2016 2

Is Ruth Bader Ginsburg losing her mind?

GinsbergBy Natalia Castro

Ruth Bader Ginsburg decided being a Supreme Court Justice wasn’t enough, she had to get involved in presidential politics too. And now that she has, she’s proving completely unfit to continue sitting at the bench.

In an interview with the New York Times on July 8 2016, Ginsburg made her feelings clear, saying, “I can’t imagine what this place would be — I can’t imagine what the country would be — with Donald Trump as our president. For the country, it could be four years. For the court, it could be — I don’t even want to contemplate that.”

Yet, it doesn’t really matter how Ginsburg feels about Donald Trump, it’s her responsibility to remain silent as a Justice, a responsibility she has failed at and disqualifies her from her position.

The Supreme Court has one job — to unbiasedly determine if government actions are constitutional or unconstitutional.

Perhaps Ginsburg has forgotten the importance of that simple concept as she clearly cannot separate political opinion from her judicial standing. A Supreme Court Justice should be outside of political commentary, she is not a plain civilian, she is a representation of the law.

It’s not surprising Trump responded to this inappropriate attack from the Justice harshly, tweeting on July 12, “Justice Ginsburg of the U.S. Supreme Court has embarrassed all by making dumb political statements about me. Her mind is shot — resign!”

Trump’s tweet might seem aggressive but he’s correct on two major accounts.

Ginsburg is embarrassing the Supreme Court she is supposed to represent. The Supreme Court is not a political entity nor a tool for campaigning. By making her remarks about Trump she is interjecting herself into a political system she is meant to be above, and it damages the credibility of the highest court in the land.

Next, she may be out of her mind. Certainly she has no good sense. She has basically proven she will never be able to provide an unbiased ruling should Trump win the presidency, therefore as a Supreme Court Justice her mind would be rather useless having to recuse herself all the time.

Years of schooling, credibility, and appellate court service mean nothing if a ruling cannot be impartial, and with politicalized remarks like hers, it is clear they cannot be.

Imagine if this election is taken to the Supreme Court as it was in 2000, or if Trump’s proposed immigration reforms enter the courts, or if Trump speaks on a case and states his leanings, or basically any policy Trump offers or comments on enters to the Supreme Court — Ginsburg would have to sit out the cases. Instead of being one justice short, she has opened the Supreme Court up to being two short should Trump win. Good job.

It was just in 2010 when the late Justice Antonin Scalia discussed the politicization of the Supreme Court, and critiqued the nomination process for running the risk of allowing a political justice to enter the court. Now in his absence, Ginsburg is doing exactly that, only further removing the court from the people and stripped of its impartiality — a mere shadow of the most honorable court in the free world.

Ginsberg did throw around the idea of moving to New Zealand. Well, Justice Ginsburg, go right ahead. Why wait for the election?

Natalia Castro is a contributing editor at Americans for Limited Government.

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