In a year that has included impeachment, a global pandemic, economic turmoil and a reckoning on race, the death of Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg crystallizes the choice in November as perhaps none of the other issues can. …
Ginsburg’s death changes the calculus for the campaign between President Trump and former vice president Joe Biden. The court long has been a voting issue for some conservatives, particularly evangelical Christians and others who put opposition to abortion at the top of their issue list. Trump will be counting on the prospect of expanding a conservative majority on the Supreme Court to further energize that part of his base.
But the possibility of a conservative majority of long-standing on the high court is just as likely to have an impact on opponents of Trump. The history of the abortion debate suggests that when the right to an abortion is truly threatened, proponents of that right suddenly become hyperactive. Given Ginsburg’s status and the role she played in empowering women and fighting for women’s rights, her loss will add octane to the fuel on the left. CONT.
Dan Balz, Washington Post
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