Statement regarding the passing of Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg

Contact: Dylan Rosenthal, Director of Communications, udeldems@gmail.com

The College Democrats at the University of Delaware are deeply saddened by the passing of Associate Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg. Justice Ginsburg is the embodiment of perseverance and one of the most important figures in United States history.

Justice Ginsburg, the second woman ever to be seated on the United States Supreme Court, fought her entire career for social justice and gender equality. Because of her work over several decades, our country inched ever closer to that more-perfect union that our founding documents promised. She would be the first to say that there is a very long way to go, but today, our country is a more equitable place because of her work.

Ruth Bader Ginsburg was much more than just a Supreme Court Justice; she is a feminist icon, a strong proponent of protecting the right to choose, and always defending equality under the law.

Justice Ginsburg has inspired generations of young women, many of our members included, to pursue a career in law and social justice. A legacy like that will last for far longer than any one person’s lifetime and will surely cement her deserved place in the pantheon of American law and jurisprudence.

While we would like this tribute to remain apolitical, the reality is, we don’t have that luxury. The death of Justice Ginsburg has already been politicized by Republicans at both the national level and at the state level here in Delaware. Last night, the GOP U.S. Senate nominee for Delaware posted a vulgar and racist post regarding Justice Ginsburg’s death.

At the national level, Republicans have sent out fundraising content based on Justice Ginsburg’s death, and other candidates have gone as far as the GOP U.S. Senate nominee in Delaware.

Just four years ago, Mitch McConnell and his Republican colleagues refused to even meet with President Obama’s Supreme Court nominee, Merrick Garland, because it was 11 months before an election. Despite setting this absurd precedent and stealing a Supreme Court nomination from the sitting President, President Trump and Mitch McConnell have already stated that they will push through a nominee, just less than two months before the November election.

To Republicans, this is not about democracy or precedent; it is about holding and strengthening their power, by any means necessary.

We condemn the right-wing politicization of Justice Ginsburg’s death, and our organization calls on our state’s U.S. Senators to make sure the victor of the November general election is the President that gets to fill this seat.

Republicans set this precedent, and we cannot cave because they have chosen to be complete hypocrites.