Justice Ginsburg hates the very idea of Amy Coney Barrett. Her clerks avoid mentioning Amy Coney Barrett’s name in her presence because it drives her to apoplexy. Amy Coney Barrett literally embodies everything that Justice Ginsburg detests about conservatives. Amy Coney Barrett is extraordinarily smart, young, articulate, talented, generous, attractive, rock-solid in her beliefs, has raised many children, is unintimidated by the Left, is photogenic and telegenic—and, with 53 Republicans in the Senate, 100 percent confirmable. No more Jeff Flakes, no more “highly credible allegations” of multiple gang rapes of college women by high school kids, no more yearbooks, no more stalling, and no more bullshit.
Trump can have three-quarters of a loaf guaranteed, but Justice Ginsburg still gets one-quarter of a loaf—a successor who just might become a swing vote on at least some issues.
The truth is, Ginsburg has more impact now as a movie character than as a Supreme Court justice. Her judicial legacy (such as it is) is evaporating, one opinion at a time. She soldiers on, but she will never be in a majority on any opinion of any significance.