In A Long Day Of Impeachment Debates, RBG Is Our Only Saving Grace

We’re (hopefully) in the final stretch of a grueling day-long impeachment debate and America is tired. We are very, very tired. We want answers! But, at least we still have Ruth Bader Ginsburg to give us hope. At 86-years-old, the Supreme Court Justice and four-time cancer survivor remains an emblem of light for Americans during this historic and trying week, even coming through in the last haul to shed some words of wisdom and hope upon us.

"Tonight, I'm feeling fine," Ginsburg said on Tuesday evening when she accepted the Berggruen Prize for philosophy and culture. Despite the immense turmoil the country faces with the potential of impeachment a third president in American history, Ginsburg shed an air of optimism on it all. She pointed at youth leaders — Malala Yousafzai and Greta Thunberg, specifically — calling on them to help course correct all of us. I guess, by her standards, it takes the strength of a woman to do just that.

On Tuesday, Ginsburg opened about her personal life in an interview with Jeffrey Rosen, author of the new book Conversations with RBG: Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg on Life, Love, Liberty, and Law. She talked about grieving for her sister, who died at age six from meningitis, and the unwavering compassion it takes to come out of tragedy — not just for herself, but for all of America. Because that is, in a way, what we've equated this rather grim hour(s) to.

"The president is not a lawyer, he's not law-trained," Ginsburg told BBC on Tuesday evening when she accepted the prize. It's informally known as the Nobel prize of philosophy and was awarded to Ginsburg for her work in pioneering gender equality and strengthening the rule of law. And Ginsburg certainly did not take light to what is happening in the ongoing impeachment proceedings, though she did question whether senators involved in the impeachment trial could remain impartial.

Last week, Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell said “I’m not an impartial juror. This is a political process. There’s not anything judicial about it.” Clearly his remarks struck a nerve, as Ginsburg remarked to the BBC, "Well, if a judge said that, a judge would be disqualified from sitting on the case.”

On Wednesday, members of the US House of Representatives will listen to six hours of extensive debate before casting a vote on whether to impeach President Donald Trump. With the house slanting democratic, the impeachment vote is expected to pass. The next step will be a trial in the Senate.

While things may seem grim in the US at the moment and are likely to get worse before they get better, it's a comfort to know that the Notorious RBG can still pull us out of it.