Last week was very exciting. My wife’s Notorious RBG tee shirt arrived by mail. Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg’s image appears on the front with a gold crown atilt on her head. Her statement is printed on the back. “Women need to be in all places where decisions are being made.” But I don’t think she gets a royalty. It was one of the hits of our July Fourth celebration. Justice Ginsburg has transcended her place on the Supreme Court. Only a week earlier, she made headlines over her concurrent opinion in the Texas abortion case. She warned pro-life politicos, who may try to shut down abortion clinics by imposing unnecessary and often impossible requirements upon them. “You shall not pass,” she said, more or less.
Justice Ginsburg’s a Rock Star. According to a 2015 Public Policy Polling nationwide survey, she is America’s most popular Supreme Court Justice. She could have signed on for the Tibet Benefit or Farm Aid. Instead, she is using her celebrity to debunk Trump, a person whose presidency she considers unimaginable. Last week, she told three major news outlets, in essence, that Donald Trump should not be President. Her late husband would have moved away, she said. She called Trump a faker and incoherent; someone who says whatever comes into his head. Then she skewered the media for going easy on him for failing to release his tax returns.
Justice Ginsburg is more than a rock star, though. She’s RBG — a brand. She is using her brand to attack Donald Trump’s brand. Rather than go into the fake water, fake steak, fake college and fake politics businesses, she’s using her brand to protect the Republic.
Trump and his GOP strange bedfellows were appalled. “Highly inappropriate” …”she crossed the line”…”a disgrace”…”she should resign”…”Her mind is shot!” The final comment is one of Trump’s tweets. There’s nothing soft-minded about Ginsburg. She knows what she is doing. She is exploiting her popularity and approval to bring home the message that Donald Trump and his message are bad for America.
Notorious.
Evan Sarzin is the author of Hard Bop Piano and Bud Powell published by Gerard & Sarzin Music Publishing. He writes and publishes Revolted Colonies (http://revoltedcolonies.com).