Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg recently expressed her hope that the nation “will get back to the way it was,” speaking of a time when the political climate was less partisan.
Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg recently expressed her hope that the nation “will get back to the way it was,” speaking of a time when the political climate was less partisan.
The Wall Street Journal reports that Ginsburg made the comments Saturday after seeing ‘The Originalist,’ a play about the late Justice Antonin Scalia.
The production highlights an imagined relationship between conservative Scalia and a liberal law clerk he brings on to keep his skills of debate on point.
WTOP notes that in the play, "their opposing political persuasions make for passionate debates on many hot-button issues — gun rights,...abortion,...and the Defense of Marriage Act — but ultimately, [the clerk is] surprised to embrace Scalia as an unexpected mentor."
Ginsburg commented, “I love this play and the idea behind it that people with very different views on important things can genuinely like each other.”
She also recalled a time much unlike today’s partisan-fueled approach to governance, noting that Scalia was confirmed in 1986 with a vote of 98 to 0. Ginsburg, a liberal, was sent to the bench with a 96-3 split in 1993.
The sitting justice said she looks forward to a return to that sort of political climate.
Ginsburg has in the past taken a bolder tone in her commentary about the current political situation. In a February interview with the BBC’s ‘Newsnight,’ she said, “We're not experiencing the best of times.”
While the 2016 presidential race was in full swing she characterized Donald Trump as “faker” who “really has an ego,” reports CNN. Ginsburg also told the media outlet that Trump "has no consistency about him. He says whatever comes into his head at the moment."