"The death of Ruth Bader Ginsburg upsets the American countryside"

Ruth Bader Ginsburg, Former Supreme Court Justice -

• US Supreme Court justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg died overnight from Friday to Saturday.

• A death that changes a lot of things in the American presidential campaign, just 45 days before the election.

• Because for Jean-Eric Branaa, it is no longer a question of electing a president, but of choosing who will nominate the next judge.

Ruth Bader Ginsburg, progressive judge of the American Supreme Court and political figure of the United States, died this Friday following cancer.

A death that raises the question of the appointment of his successor, a decision that falls to the President of the United States.

45 days before the election and a possible change at the head of the country, the questioning therefore takes a more decisive turn than ever.

Jean-Eric Branaa, lecturer and political scientist specializing in the United States, returns for

on the upheavals linked to the American campaign caused by this death.

Ruth Bader Ginsburg was known for her strong positions and for embodying many militant values.

Does his death shake up the American presidential campaign?

It is even more than an upheaval.

But in reality, this is less due to the person she was than to the position she held.

Ruth Bader Ginsburg was one of the nine justices of the United States Supreme Court, one of the most important pillars of democratic life in the United States.

With his death the question of the appointment of his successor arises, a decision taken only by the President of the United States.

The problem stems from the fact that his death comes 45 days before the presidential election, which could change the head of state, his political camp, and therefore the choice of the judge who will sit on the Supreme Court.

A similar case had occurred with the death of another Supreme Court justice during Barack Obama's tenure, and many Republicans had said it was not for him to choose the successor, as it happened to "Only" 237 days of the future American election.

We are talking about 45 days there, so you can imagine the turmoil.

What are the issues ?

There are nine Supreme Court justices, and before Ruth Bader Ginsburg's death there were five Conservative justices and four progressive justices, including her.

The question is therefore to know if with the next judge, we will keep this relative tightening of five to four, in the event of the appointment of a progressive judge, or if the gap will widen with a Supreme Court made up of six conservatives and three progressives.

It is now a sprint that is committed for Donald Trump, who will do everything to appoint and validate a new conservative judge.

Obviously, the Democrats will do anything to delay this nomination, until the elections.

Is it such an essential question?

It has become THE question of the presidential election.

The death of Ruth Bader Ginsburg buries the countryside, there are no more programs, even the health crisis is now taking a back seat.

The question arises for each voter: which candidate to vote for in order to have a judge who suits my convictions?

The Supreme Court directly influences the daily life of voters, as much if not more than the president.

Throughout history, it was she who voted for the right to segregation, to gay marriage, to abortion, in order to make only major voting decisions.

In addition, appointments are relatively young, the judges chosen are under 50 and are there for life terms.

The person chosen will therefore weigh in American life for at least thirty years, much more than a presidential mandate.

It is therefore a decision which erases the political program of the potential presidents to restrict it to the choice of appointment of their judge.

How can this influence the votes?

For example, Donald Trump divides Republicans a lot, and more and more.

With the moderate profile of a Joe Biden, one would think that some Republican voters would vote for Biden more than for Trump.

But the death of Ruth Bader Ginsburg will undoubtedly reshuffle the cards.

Regardless of whether Donald Trump displeases him, Republican voters are likely to rally to him to be certain of having one more conservative judge on the Supreme Court.

Even if a new mandate from Donald Trump annoys them, what are four years to endure in the face of thirty years of decisions corresponding to their values ​​at the Supreme Court?

Pending the appointment of the new judge, the Supreme Court therefore has five conservative and three progressive judges.

Whatever the new choice, there will be no "switch" from one camp to another, the Court will remain with a conservative majority.

Does that diminish the scope of this appointment and this decision?

Not at all.

Already, because we have to look beyond the composition of the current Court.

As said, this is a life term so the appointed judge will easily stay in place for thirty years, the court may change by then with more deaths.

If it is a curator who is appointed, we will go to a ratio of 6-3.

And whatever the next appointments, the Court will remain conservative for a while.

It would be somewhere to take shelter from a progressive shift.

Then, a court at 6-3 for the Tories would change a lot of things.

For the moment, because of this narrow gap at 5-4, there was a pendulum judge who sometimes voted more Democrat than Republican, in order to respect their numbers.

Some court decisions were therefore purely democratic and progressive.

At 6-3, there will be no need for this rebalancing, and the decisions taken will be different and even more marked than in the past.

World

United States Supreme Court: Justice and feminist icon Ruth Bader Ginsburg dies at 87

World

United States: Supreme Court examines financing of contraception

• US presidential election

• United States

• Interview

• Donald trump

• Supreme Court

• World