Near Rosh Hashanah because god determined they were needed until the very end. Friday evening, shortly after the sun down on the eve of the jewish new yearhe, we learned that Supreme CourtJustice Ruth Bader ginsburg, a woman of great righteousness a woman of valor passed away. She was many things to many people, brilliant mind, quick wit a lover of the opera a friend, colleague, workout guru and feminist icon. She might be the only Supreme Court justice to become a meme but what began as a joke the notorious rvg liking a legendary rapper to an octogenarian jurist struck a chord in American Society because Ruth Bader Ginsburg was a rebellious force to be reckoned with in a maledominated legal establishment not waiting for someone for her to shake up the system she elbowed her way through to change the world for women long before the rest of the worldov caught on two decades as an academic in general counsel to the aclu she worked to challenge the foundations of a legal system that long treated women as a group that had to be protected and excluded from full participation in American Life. Not only did she reverse those c laws and convince the majority of the Supreme Court that the constitution for discrimination on the basis of sex but a living breathing example of how a certain idea it was that women needed additional protection and when she got to the court she ruled in a manner that brought the same equality and justice to so many different people from the daughter of russian immigrants who came to this country, like my own grandparents, she went to the same high school as i did James Madison two decades before i did. I followed her career and her assent to the bench with a special pride you feel watching someone from your neighborhood making a great difference in the world g. The fact that the end of her long life and illustrious career young women and men across america look at Ruth Bader Ginsburg with the same sense of pride and hope and adoration gives me great hope may she forever rest in peace. Now her death leaves a vacancy on the Supreme Court with only 44 days left before a National Election that could result in a different president. A vacancy that could determine the future of the Supreme Court for generations and make rulings that touch everyns aspect of American Life reporters will no doubt cover the political machinations here in washington but for hundreds of millions of suericans this vacancy on the Supreme Court puts everything, everything on the line healthcare hangs in the balance President Trump is pursuing a lawsuit to eliminate protections for more than 130 million americans with preexisting conditions and send drug prices soaring for seniors onare, medicare inte Health Insurance away from tens of millions of people. He will nominate a justice to ensure that resulted in a Supreme Court case to be argued only a few weeks after election day. An a womans fundamental constitutional right to make her own medical decisions, control her own body and right to choose hangs in the balance. Our planet, environmental protections, and the possibility of bold legislation to address Climate Change hang in the balance. Voting rights and the right of every american citizen to have a voice in our democracy hang in the balance. Pentagon stakes of this election, the stakes of this vacancy, concern no less than the future future rights for the American People. I was with my daughter and her wife to celebrate the jewish new year, and they thought to themselves and mentioned at the table, could their right to be married, could Marriage Equality be undone . Those are questions hundreds of millions of americans are asking about things near and dear to them as this nomination hangs in uthl the rights enshrined in our constitution that are supposed to be protected by the Supreme Court of the united states, all the rights that could be undone or unwound by a conservative majority on the court. The right to join a june, marry who you love, the right of a parent with a child who has cancer not to watch helpless as their son or daughter suffers without Proper Health care. If you care about these things and the kind of country we live in, this election and this vacancy mean everything. And by all rights, by every modicum of decency and honor, leader mcconnell and the Senate Republican majority have no right to fill it no right. In the final few weeks sensing her failing health, Justice Ginsburg told her family that it was her, quote, most fervent wish no she not be replaced until the new president is installed. That was Justice Ruth Bader ginsburgs dying wish, her most fervent wish, that she should not be replaced until a new president is installed. The Senate Republican majority should have no problem adhering to Justice Ginsburgs dying wish. Leader mcconnell held a Supreme Court vacancy open for nearly a year in order to, quote, give the people a voice in selecting a Supreme Court justice. I just heard the remarks of the republican leader. Its obvious why he is so, so defensive. This is what leader mcconnell said in 2016. Mere hours after the death of justice scalia. Quote his words the American People should have a voice in the selection of their next Supreme Court justice. Therefore, this vacancy shall not be filled until we have a new president. No amount of sophistry could change what mcconnell said then and it applies even more so now more so, so much closer we are to an election. In an oped on february 18, 02016, with senator grassley, leader mcconnell wrote, given that we are in the midst of a president ial election process, we believe the American People should seize the opportunity to weigh in on whom they trust to nominate the next person for a lifetime appointment to the Supreme Court. In the midst of an election system in the midst of an election process february before the election . But now we are not . Now these words dont apply . Doesnt pass the smell test in any way. No wonder leader mcconnell was so defensive in his comments. At a press conference on march 1, 2016, leader mcconnell said, quote, we look forward to the American People deciding who they want to make this appointment through their own votes. And on the floor, march 16, 2016, mcconnell said, quote, our view is this give the people a voice in filling the vacancy. That was eight months, more than eight months from a National Election. This is 44 days. The senate has never confirmed a nominee to the Supreme Court this close to a president ial election. If that was how leader mcconnell and Senate Republicans justify their mindless obstruction of president obamas nominee, surely they must abide by their own standard. Whats fair is fair. Whats fair is fair h a senators word must count for something. Senator mcconnell has come to the floor numerous times to say, quote, your word is the currency of the realm in the senate. That quote it is important for all senators to keep their word but it is particularly important for the majority leader, unquote. Leader mcconnell said those things. My friend, the distinguished chairman of the judiciary committee, sensed that this situation might arise and made it Crystal Clear how he would behave if the shoe were on the other foot. Quote, he said, i want you to use my words against me, unquote. If there is a republican presidency in 2301 and a vacancy occurs in the last year of the first term, you can say Lindsey Graham said, lets let the next president , whoever it might be, make that nomination. He reiterated that view less than two years ago and encouraged the audience to, quote, hold the tape for exactly this situation. No wonder americans have no little faith in government and in this senate. Led by the republican majority. We now know the entire thing was a farce. Not a shred of credibility to those argumentsment we have the exact scenario that chairman graham talked about a republican president and a Supreme Court vacancy in the last year of the first term. Indeed, its almost the last month of his first term. I want you to use those words against me,he said. You can say Lindsey Graham said the next president , whoever it might be, should make the nomination. Well, here we are. And despite these words, despite their supposedly noble principle that the American People should have a voice in the decision of the next Supreme Court justice, President Trump, leader mcconnell, chairman graham have already announced they will ignore their own standard and will rush to confirm a new justice before the next president is installed. A justice that could tear down Justice Ginsburgs life works and other critical laws, like the Affordable Care act. The kind words and lamentations we just heard from the majority leader about Justice Ginsburg are totally empty, totally meaningless if they moves to appoint someone who will tear down everything Justice Ginsburg built. Leader mcconnell put the senate on pause for over four months while covid19 devastated our country, but now he will move earth and heaven and ignore all principle and consistency to install a new Supreme Court justice who could rip away Americans Health care in middle of a pandemic. Leader mcconnell and chairman graham have made a mockery of their previous position. They seem ready to show the world their word is simply no good. Its enough to make your head explode and then to hear leader mcconnell up on the floor trying to defend this pathetic. Pathetic. Why even bother constructing a pretense for your position, why say its this rule or that rule and then do the exact opposite when it suits your interests . Why not just come to the floor and say, im going to do whatever is best for my political party. Consistency be damned, reason be damned, democracy be damned. Just admit it. Theres no shaping the cravenness of this position. But over the course of the debate, i know the republican leader leadership is going to try. Were going to hear some crazy things from the other side to defend the indefensible and justify this unjustifiable power grab. Weve heard some of it already a few minutes ago. Were going to here a series of preposterous arguments, that it has shout it somehow has to do with the orientation of the presidency. Well hear that republicans have to do it because democrats will do far worth on unnamed things in the future. Some some few on that side who at least have the dignity of putting their head down and plowing through it because they know there is no reason, no reason, no argument, no logic to justify flipping your position 180 degrees and calling it some kind of principle. It is not. It is utterly craven. An exercise in raw political power, and nothing nothing more. And i worry i worry for the future of this chamber if the republican majority proceeds down this dangerous path. If a Senate Majority over the course of six years steals two Supreme Court seats using completely contradictory rationales, how could we expect to trust the other side again . How can we trust each other if when push comes to shove, when the stakes are the highest, the other side will doublecrass their own standards when its politically advantageous . Tell me how. Tell me how this would not spell the end of this supposedly great deliberative body. Because i dont see how. Theres only one way, one way for this chamber to retain its dignity through this difficult chapter. There is only one way for us to have some hope of coming together again, trusting each other again, lowering the temperature, moving forward, and that is for four brave Senate Republicans to commit to rejecting any nominee until the next president is installed. That was Justice Ginsburgs dying wish, and it may be the senate mr. Leahy mr. President , i am here with an incredibly heavy heart. Justice