Ne regrettez rien
Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg of the Supreme Court on Thursday expressed regret for her recent remarks about the candidacy of Donald J. Trump, saying they were “ill-advised.”
…
“On reflection, my recent remarks in response to press inquiries were ill-advised and I regret making them,” Justice Ginsburg said in a statement on Thursday. “Judges should avoid commenting on a candidate for public office. In the future I will be more circumspect.”
In general, they should. But a potential Hitler isn’t “in general.” Hitler didn’t run on a platform of killing all the Jews, after all. German voters didn’t know that was what they were voting for. He was just an ordinary anti-Semite and right-winger when he ran, albeit one with a history of violence and a prison record. It’s not safe to assume that Trump won’t really be the racist bully he seems to be if he gets elected. It’s not safe to assume he’ll be sobered by the responsibility if that happens. So I’m not convinced RBG was wrong to deviate from the usual custom for judges.
Few legal experts had expected Justice Ginsburg to offer the apology that Mr. Trump demanded. Justices typically remain largely out of the public eye and are insulated from political pressures and news media coverage that can compel action.
But the torrent of criticism, especially from supporters and allies of Justice Ginsburg, appears to have pierced that protection.
Former Justice Antonin Scalia, who died this year, was often the target of demands for apologies for his acerbic comments from the bench or in speeches. They generally did not materialize, though the justice did apologize to reporters in 2004 after a deputy federal marshal ordered them to destroy recordings of a half-hour speech by Justice Scalia at a Mississippi high school.
At least RBG didn’t say she would be more circumspect “going forward.”
Reminds me of the lawyer in a heated criminal trial who asks a leading question with major implications, counsel on the other side objects, judge sustains the objection and instructs the jury to disregard the question.
The point was made. That’s the important thing.
^ Exactly. RB-G isn’t dumb, I’m sure she had some form of backtrack planned if required. Importantly, she hasn’t actually apologised for what she said, only that she said it.
I think Rob might be right. And, if you ask me, the final sentence is the key element – “In the future I will be more circumspect.” I confess to being a person who sometimes has to semi-track back on something I’ve said to a loved one which unexpectedly caused offense. I am rarely sorry I said it. But I claim that I will be more careful, nicer, more circumspect, less cranky in the future.
Why do I say that? To end the conversation about my bad behavior, by saying )”I am not really that regretful about what I said/did but how about this?) In the future I will be more blah blah blah. . . ”
RBG is a hero. She used her position and her voice to try to save our sorry asses from the horrors of a Trump presidency and the future it will lead to. SHE IS A HERO.
I love you guys. You’re all cynical as fuck.
Who? Me? The Horror!
:-)
‘…He was just an ordinary anti-Semite and right-winger when he ran, albeit one with a history of violence and a prison record.” – and a book that anyone could read in which he stated the whole program pretty clearly. Although to be fair at that time he hadn’t decided on total extermination of the Untermensch.