Barack Obama Reverses Course From 2016, Calls For Delay To Fill RBG Vacancy

Former President Barack Obama issued a statement following the death of Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg and he used that statement to claim that Republicans set a precedent when they denied him the ability to fill the seat in 2016.

Obama claimed that “Four and a half years ago, when Republicans refused to hold a hearing or an up-or-down vote on Merrick Garland, they invented the principle that the Senate shouldn’t fill an open seat on the Supreme Court before a new president was sworn in.”

He believes that in “a basic principle of the law” and “of everyday fairness” would be that rules be applied with “consistency and not based on what’s convenient or advantageous in the moment.”

He continued, “The rule of law, the legitimacy of our courts, the fundamental workings of our democracy all depend on that basic principle. As votes are already being cast in this election, Republican Senators are now called to apply that standard.”

He finished by talking about what he believes is at stake in the upcoming election: “The questions before the Court now and in the coming years — with decisions that will determine whether or not our economy is fair, our society is just, women are treated equally, our planet survives, and our democracy endures — are too consequential to future generations for courts to be filled through anything less than an unimpeachable process.”

Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg fought to the end, through her cancer, with unwavering faith in our democracy and its ideals. That’s how we remember her. But she also left instructions for how she wanted her legacy to be honored. My statement: https://t.co/Wa6YcT5gDi

— Barack Obama (@BarackObama) September 19, 2020

Conservative Activist Mark Dice and others, however, uncovered an August 30, 2016 tweet from Obama urging Senate leaders to do their job because summer was almost over.

He shared a picture at the time that said, “The Senate returns from recess next week. This is what should be at the top of their to-do-list. Fill the Supreme Court vacancy.”

Dice said of the tweet, “Case closed! Barack Obama wants RBG’s Supreme Court Seat filled ASAP, before the election.” He ended the tweet with a laughing emoji.

Case closed! Barack Obama wants RBG's Supreme Court Seat filled ASAP, before the election.???? https://t.co/Ry95QvP4UE

— Mark Dice (@MarkDice) September 19, 2020

Ginsburg said in a 2015 interview that her and Obama “got along famously.” She said that she believes his legacy would be making the first giant step for universal health care.