Ruth Bader Ginsburg’s great fear: Courts viewed as partisan

“We have a great federal judiciary, and I hope we can keep it,” she added.

She also expressed hope that the country eventually will get over the current period of intense partisanship, comparing it to the 1950s, when McCarthyism and the Red Scare led the country to stray “from its most fundamental values.”

“That time has passed. This time will too. We have something so wonderful in this nation,” she said. “That Democracy exists. It would be tragic to lose it. And I think good people, no matter whether Democrat or Republican, appreciate that.”

Ginsburg said some in Congress are working across the aisle, singling out three female senators for praise: Massachusetts Democrat Elizabeth Warren, Minnesota Democrat Amy Klobuchar and Maine Republican Susan Collins.

The 84-year-old justice said she feels fine, eliciting cheers and applause from the audience.

She attributed her health to her personal trainer, who published a book on the justice’s workout last year. A new documentary about her, titled “RBG,” which just premiered at the Sundance Film Festival, shows Ginsburg doing exercises, including pushups and throwing a weighted ball.

“Many reporters want to know about the routine. Most of them fail miserably,” she told the crowd Tuesday, laughing and shaking her head.

She dodged a question asking her thoughts about how “Saturday Night Live” depicts her lifting weights, popping vitamins and determined to outlast the Trump administration. She pointed out that the actress who portrays her, Kate McKinnon, has the same name as lawyer Catherine MacKinnon, who pioneered sexual harassment law.

While avoiding talk of Trump, Ginsburg did mention former President Jimmy Carter, who appointed her to the U.S. Court of Appeals in 1980, 13 years before her appointment to the Supreme Court. Carter, a Democrat, served only one term and never made a Supreme Court appointment. But he “changed the complexion” of the judiciary by appointing women and minorities to the bench at a time when judges were white and male, she said.

“No president ever returned to the not-so-good-old days,” Ginsburg said.

Ginsburg was one of five Supreme Court justices who skipped Trump’s speech. The others were Justices Alito, Sotomayor, Anthony Kennedy and Clarence Thomas.

Michelle R. Smith, The Associated Press

by Canadian Press

Ruth Bader Ginsburg’s great fear: Courts viewed as partisan

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