September 21st, 2020

In tribute to Ruth Bader Ginsburg

Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg died Friday, Sept. 18, at age 87. (SCOTUSblog photo)

It was my honor to preside over her confirmation hearings, and to strongly support her accession to the Supreme Court,” Biden said. “In the decades since, she was consistently and reliably the voice that pierced to the heart of every issue, protected the constitutional rights of every American, and never failed in the fierce and unflinching defense of liberty and freedom. Her opinions, and her dissents, will continue to shape the basis of our law for future generations. ...
"There is no doubt — let me be clear: The voters should pick the president, and the president should pick the justice for the Senate to consider,” Biden told reporters following news of Ginsburg’s death. “This was the position the Republican Senate took in 2016 when there were almost 10 months to go before the election. That’s the position the United States Senate must take today, and the election is only 46 days off.”
–– Democratic Presidential Nominee Joe Biden

"Tonight we mourn, we honor, and we pray for Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg and her family. But we also recommit to fight for her legacy," Harris wrote on Friday night.
"In some of her final moments with her family, she shared her fervent wish to 'not be replaced until a new President is installed.' We will honor that wish."
–– Democratic Vice Presidential Nominee Kamala Harris

​"Sixty years ago, Ruth Bader Ginsburg applied to be a Supreme Court clerk. She’d studied at two of our finest law schools and had ringing recommendations. But because she was a woman, she was rejected. Ten years later, she sent her first brief to the Supreme Court — which led it to strike down a state law based on gender discrimination for the first time. And then, for nearly three decades, as the second woman ever to sit on the highest court in the land, she was a warrior for gender equality — someone who believed that equal justice under law only had meaning if it applied to every single American.
"Over a long career on both sides of the bench — as a relentless litigator and an incisive jurist — Justice Ginsburg helped us see that discrimination on the basis of sex isn’t about an abstract ideal of equality; that it doesn’t only harm women; that it has real consequences for all of us. It’s about who we are — and who we can be.
"Justice Ginsburg inspired the generations who followed her, from the tiniest trick-or-treaters to law students burning the midnight oil to the most powerful leaders in the land. Michelle and I admired her greatly, we’re profoundly thankful for the legacy she left this country, and we offer our gratitude and our condolences to her children and grandchildren tonight.
"Ruth Bader Ginsburg fought to the end, through her cancer, with unwavering faith in our democracy and its ideals. That’s how we remember her. But she also left instructions for how she wanted her legacy to be honored.
​Four and a half years ago, when Republicans refused to hold a hearing or an up-or-down vote on Merrick Garland, they invented the principle that the Senate shouldn’t fill an open seat on the Supreme Court before a new president was sworn in.
"A basic principle of the law — and of everyday fairness — is that we apply rules with consistency, and not based on what’s convenient or advantageous in the moment. The rule of law, the legitimacy of our courts, the fundamental workings of our democracy all depend on that basic principle. As votes are already being cast in this election, Republican Senators are now called to apply that standard. The questions before the Court now and in the coming years — with decisions that will determine whether or not our economy is fair, our society is just, women are treated equally, our planet survives, and our democracy endures — are too consequential to future generations for courts to be filled through anything less than an unimpeachable process."
–– Former Presiident Barack Obama

"Ruth Bader Ginsburg created a landscape and set the legal framework for women’s equality in this country — case by case, brick by brick. She was ahead of her time, a true pioneer. Her story was remarkable. Throughout her career, she faced discrimination at every turn –– for being a woman, for being Jewish, for being a mother –– yet overcame it to sit on the highest court in our country.
"Along the way, her work in the legal system led to landmark structural changes that reduced gender discrimination and created more equal protections for all Americans. Her efforts have helped create a more just and fair country – and ensured that even if she was the first one to make it through a certain door, she wouldn’t be the last. Throughout my life and career, in the law and in government, I have walked through doors that she opened. From the time I was a young lawyer, I was inspired by her incredible intelligence, her tenacity, and her unfailing moral compass that guided her work toward creating a more perfect union, one with equal opportunities for all of us.
“Fierce, persistent and filled with grit, she was our hope and our inspiration. Justice Ginsburg never, ever gave up and America is better for it. We can honor her legacy by continuing to work to dismantle all forms of inequality and discrimination, in our justice system and in our lives, with everything we have. Dan and I send our love to her entire family as they mourn the loss of an American icon and legend.”
-- ​Oregon Gov. Kate Brown

​"We are deeply saddened by the death of Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg. A champion for women's rights, she was an iconic hero and tireless intellect who fiercely advocated for the marginalized throughout her long and amazing career. Today, there is a hole in our hearts, and a deep lonely cavern in America's justice community."
–– Democratic Party of Oregon Chair KC Hanson

"Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg's death is a staggering loss for all of us. We must honor her by respecting her final wishes.
The American people should have a voice in the selection of their next Supreme Court Justice. Therefore, this vacancy should not be filled until we have a new president.
–– Oregon Sen. Ron Wyden

"Last night, America lost a giant. She stood just an inch over five feet, but Ruth Bader Ginsburg was a towering force in our nation for decades.She died on the first evening of Rosh Hashanah—the Jewish New Year. In her Jewish tradition, one who dies on Rosh Hashanah is considered a tzaddik, "a person of great righteousness.
"And she was.
"She was also a fierce champion for justice, righting historic wrongs, and standing up for the underdog against the powerful. We must fight for and advance her legacy.
"Shamefully, less than an hour after news broke of her death, Mitch McConnell called for a vote on a Trump-appointed replacement. We can't let that happen.
"If we are to have any chance of ensuring that Justice Ginsburg's successor shares her values, we must take back the U.S. Senate.We can do that by supporting those who are working eighty-hour weeks organizing volunteers, driving the vote, and making our victories in 2020 possible.The Blue "Wave Project is my project to support great Senate candidates and deliver last-minute support wherever it is needed in the fight to take back the Senate.
"So much is at stake. Roe v. Wade hangs in the balance. Voting rights. The ability of employees and consumers to hold big corporations accountable for harm. And so much more.
"The Court has become the most powerful nine-person legislative body in the world. There have been dozens and dozens of 5-4 decisions against the People and for the powerful. It must end. We cannot allow RBG to be replaced by a right-wing ideologue.
This is a time to mourn. But it is also a time to vote.
This is a time to weep. And it is also a time to organize.
Justice Ginsburg spent her life fighting for her values. Now, we will mourn her by fighting for those same values with everything we got.
Onward.
–– Oregon Sen. Jeff Merkley