Why the death of Judge Ruth Bader Ginsburg upsets the US presidential election

ANALYSIS

The best-known of the four "progressives" of the United States Supreme Court, Ruth Bader Ginsburg, died on Friday at the age of 87.

A spontaneous tribute took place the same evening in front of the high court, proof of its great popularity, especially with women.

Jean-Eric Branaa, specialist in the United States and lecturer at the University of Paris 2, analyzes for Europe 1 the consequences of his death on the approaching presidential election.

Because a judge to the Supreme Court is appointed for life and, six weeks before the presidential election, an arm wrestling began last night between Democrats and Republicans ... 

"As important as the election of the President"

"In reality, there is no longer a campaign. The campaign was carried to the grave by Ruth Bader Ginsburg. We will now only talk about his replacement," said the specialist.

And for good reason: "We must realize the weight of the Supreme Court in the lives of Americans: it is this court that decides on issues that Congress does not take charge," he explains.

If in France, some parliamentarians are emblematic of the fight they have led, such as Simone Veil for abortion or Robert Badinter against the death penalty, it is not possible to draw a parallel in the United States.

"The congressmen, the American parliamentarians, do not get caught up in these questions. They let the lessons take place," comments Jean-Eric Branaa.

"Whether it is on abortion, the death penalty, gay marriage, on the establishment or the end of segregation in the United States, on imprisonment, freedom of speech ... in short everything that makes the life of the citizens between them ", it is then the Supreme Court which makes the final decisions," and guides the nation towards the better or the worse, according to the political opinions. "

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According to the specialist on the United States, the decision to replace Ruth Bader Ginsburg is therefore "as important as the election of the President itself. It will completely eclipse the last 45 days of the campaign. We will no longer talk about politics in the classic sense of the term, not even a pandemic. We are going to talk about the replacement of this judge, "says the professor.

Equal rights, the fight of his life

Ruth Bader Ginsburg, appointed in 1993 by Bill Clinton and dean of the Supreme Court of the United States, was particularly popular and had led various battles, especially for women.

"It is also astonishing because it is not a judge who was particularly progressive. She was a judge called" liberal "in the United States, but rather moderate, and she imposed herself little by little because that her fight in favor of equal rights and the rights of women specifically is not a new fight. It is the fight of her whole life! ", also recalls Jean-Eric Branaa.

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Before being a judge at the Supreme Court, she had notably been "for very long years the chief legal officer of the ACLU, the

, that is to say the League. of American human rights. She had even gone very far for a moment, explaining that she used a woman's vote in her decisions - which had created a real controversy because she claimed that there was a vote of women and a vote of men, quite revolutionary when she made this declaration, twenty years ago ".

American Democrats therefore feared more than anything this scenario, a few weeks before the presidential election, because President Donald Trump may quickly want to replace this progressive judge with a conservative judge.