What The Political Response To RBG's Death Reveals About America

We discuss the political response to Ginsburg’s death, and what it reveals about the fragility of U.S. institutions. How is American democracy being tested now?

Guests

Anne Applebaum, Pulitzer Prize-winning historian. Staff writer for The Atlantic. Senior fellow at the Johns Hopkins School of Advanced International Studies. Author of “Twilight of Democracy.” (@anneapplebaum)

Stephen Henderson, host of “Detroit Today” on WDET since 2015. Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist who worked for the Detroit Free Press, the Baltimore Sun and the Chicago Tribune. (@SHDetroit)

From The Reading List

The Atlantic: “If You Care About the Court, Don’t Talk About It” — “I know that Ruth Bader Ginsburg’s empty Supreme Court seat has provoked an epic, long-awaited clash between Democrats and Republicans, that the very principle of judicial independence hangs dangerously in the balance.”

The Atlantic: “A Warning From Europe: The Worst Is Yet to Come” — “On December 31, 1999, we threw a party. It was the end of one millennium and the start of a new one; people very much wanted to celebrate, preferably somewhere exotic. Our party fulfilled that criterion.”

Politico: “McConnell locks down key Republican votes for Supreme Court fight” — “Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell is locking down key votes from Republican senators in his bid to fill the Supreme Court vacancy created by Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg’s death.”

CNN: “McConnell vows Trump’s nominee to replace Ginsburg will get Senate vote, setting up historic fight” — “Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell vowed on Friday that whomever President Donald Trump nominates to replace the late Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg will get a vote on the Senate floor, signaling a historic fight in Congress over one of the most polarizing issues in American politics.”

The Bulwark: “Ruth Bader Ginsburg and the Coming Political Crisis” — “Ruth Bader Ginsburg has died at age 87, while in harness as an associate justice of the United States Supreme Court.”

NBC News: “Democrats warn GOP: Don’t fill a Supreme Court vacancy in 2020 or we’ll retaliate” — “Democrats are warning Republicans not to fill a possible Supreme Court vacancy this year after denying President Barack Obama the chance in 2016, saying it would embolden a push on the left to add seats to the court whenever they regain power.”

The Atlantic: “How to Beat Populists When the Facts Don’t Matter” — “A few weeks ago, I went to a political rally in a farmyard. The Polish presidential candidate Rafał Trzaskowski was speaking; in the background, a golden wheat field shimmered in the late-afternoon sun.”

The Atlantic: “In Trump’s Virtual World, Real Catastrophes Do Not Compute” — “Oregon is on fire. Throughout the state, tens of thousands of people have been forced to take refuge. They are sleeping in their cars, in a convention center, on the floors of packed prisons. Several towns have been destroyed. Cities have been evacuated.”

This article was originally published on WBUR.org. [Copyright 2020 NPR]