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[Pages S5719-S5720]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
REMEMBERING JUSTICE RUTH BADER GINSBURG
Mr. McCONNELL. Mr. President, our Nation is mourning the end of an
exceptional American life. Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg meant so much to
our country.
First and foremost, she was a brilliant, generational legal mind who
climbed past one obstacle after another to summit the very pinnacle of
her profession.
Justice Ginsburg was a fixture on our Nation's highest Court for more
than a quarter of a century. She was not just a lawyer--no, not just a
lawyer--but a leader. From majority opinions to impassioned dissents,
her life's work will not only continue to shape jurisprudence but also
enlighten scholars and students for generations.
By all accounts, Justice Ginsburg loved her work because she loved
the law. In a more ordinary life story, her courage and continued
excellence in the face of multiple serious illnesses would itself be
the heroic climax rather than just one more remarkable chapter among so
many.
On the Court, Justice Ginsburg was a universally admired colleague.
It is no wonder that many Americans have taken particular comfort these
past days in remembering her famous friendship with her ideological
opposite, the late Justice Scalia.
Together, they made sure the halls of justice also rang with laughter
and comedy. They rarely sat on the same side of a high-profile
decision, but they still sat together at the opera and most any other
time they could manage to be together.
The legal world is mourning a giant, but Justice Ginsburg's fellow
Justices, a legion of loyal law clerks, and countless many others are
mourning a close friend or a mentor. The Senate sends condolences to
them all.
Yet Justice Ginsburg's impact on American life went deeper still.
Friday's loss feels personal to millions of Americans who may never
have made her acquaintance.
Justice Ginsburg was a spirited, powerful, and historic champion for
American women to a degree that transcends any legal or philosophical
disagreement. As she climbed from the middle-class, Brooklyn, Jewish
roots, of which she was so proud, into the most rarefied air of law and
government, the future Justice had to surmount one sexist obstacle
after another.
Justice Ginsburg did not only climb the mountain; she blazed the
trail. Through deeds, through words, and simply through her example,
she helped clear away the cobwebs of prejudice. She opened one
professional door after another and made certain they stayed open
behind her.
Directly or indirectly, she helped entire generations of talented
women build their lives as they saw fit and enrich our society through
professional
[[Page S5720]]
work. Law and politics aside, no friend of equality could fail to
appreciate Justice Ginsburg's determination.
Finally, while Justice Ginsburg relished forceful writing and
detailed argument, she was also, in important ways, a uniter. In recent
years, many who consider themselves her admirers and might wish to
claim the Justice for their political ``side'' have come to embrace
reckless proposals to politicize the very structure of the Court
itself. But Justice Ginsburg remained unswerving in her public
commitment to preserving the neutral foundation of the institution she
loved.
The entire Senate is united in thinking of and praying for Justice
Ginsburg's family--most especially her daughter Jane, her son James,
her grandchildren, step-grandchildren, great-granddaughter, and
everyone who called her their own.
____________________