Episode 185: The Loss of RBG

The year 2020 sent more bad news this Friday when the world learned that Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg had passed away.  An unflappable and untiring champion of equal justice and a pioneer in women’s rights, Ginsburg was a liberal icon and a bastion of progressive power on the court.  Grief and memorials, however, took a backseat this week to the immediate news that Republicans would be rushing towards a new replacement nominee—despite their principled stand in 2016 that during an election year “the voters should have a voice.”

On today’s episode, we look at how the Sunday shows covered the loss of this historic figure, the hypocrisy of this new SCOTUS fight, and the options for democrats.  We also look at what the shows missed in their coverage of this story.

Chapters

• Introduction

• Highlight / Lowlight

• Republican Positions

• Democratic Positions

• What the Shows Missed

• Show Rankings

• Dialogue Challenge

Shows discussed 

• Face the Nation on CBS

• State of the Union on CNN

• Fox News Sunday on FOX

• This Week on ABC

• Meet the Press on NBC

Resources

• Transcript of RBG’s discussion this February at Georgetown University (link)

• “Ruth Bader Ginsburg’s Unlikely Path to the Supreme Court” by Jill Lepore in The New Yorker

• “The Mysterious RBG” by Dahlia Lithwick in The Atlantic

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Brendan’s website: www.armisticedesigns.com  

Naomi's website: www.startwithaquestion.org