She left it for us to finish the job

Speaking about the process of nominating and confirming Ruth Bader Ginsburg’s replacement on the Supreme Court, Will Saletan tweeted that Sen. Coons (D) intends to reach across the aisle and try to persuade some friends to respect the precedent they set in 2016. Adam Jentleson responded:

This is useful insofar as it will prove the uselessness of these relationships in the face of the larger forces of polarization and negative partisanship. It’s fine to try it, but when it fails, it becomes Democrats’ responsibility to recognize the failure and act accordingly. It’s always useful to build relationships across the aisle. But in the year 2020, it is unforgivably naive to expect those relationships to overcome the structural forces shaping our politics. And it’s an abdication of governing to not have a plan for when the relationships fail.

Julian Zelizer added:

Imagine if POTUS and the Senate GOP had worked as fast on an effective national testing system for #COVID19 as they will for this SCOTUS confirmation.

Phil Mattingly tweeted:

SEN. LISA MURKOWSKI: “For weeks, I have stated that I would not support taking up a potential Supreme Court vacancy this close to the election. Sadly, what was then a hypothetical is now our reality, but my position has not changed."

Based on statements like that I’ve heard NPR report that Murkowski and Collins will vote no and there only needs to be two more GOP senators to also vote no. But Leah McElrath responded:

IMPORTANT Murkowski does NOT make a commitment in terms of action. She does NOT state she would not vote when McConnell brings a vote to the floor. These words are a statement of sentiment, nothing more. Same as with Collins.

Will Bunch, an opinion columnist for the Philadelphia Inquirer tweeted a link to his recent column with:

RBG's dying wish: Keep Trump from picking her successor. She left it for us to finish the job, by any means necessary. With Trump, McConnell taking democracy to the brink, it's time for massive civil disobedience, including a general strike.

From Bunch’s article:

The thousands of people who spontaneously packed the plaza outside the Supreme Court Friday night and again on Saturday for impromptu vigils show how deeply many Americans cared for Ginsburg’s ideals, and about her replacement. If McConnell appears able to forge ahead with a vote on Trump’s nominee, either in October or during a lame duck session after the election, that energy must be channeled into massive civil disobedience on an unprecedented level. If McConnell sets a date for a confirmation vote, the American people need to respond with a general strike — to shut down the entire country, maybe for a day or two, maybe a week, maybe longer. This is a tactic that — although it’s succeeded on a municipal level, in a different century — hasn’t ever worked on a national scale. American capitalism can brutally punish displays of courage around work. But there’s a first time for everything, and if an authoritarian power grab won’t do it, then our democracy is beyond saving. I also see a general strike as a galvanizing tool — both to drag too often cowardly Democratic leaders toward facing the realities of the Trump/McConnell threat, but also to rally strike participants behind longer-term protest measures. These could and should include massive economic boycotts of the companies that are funding GOP authoritarianism, as well as future acts of civil disobedience. We must demand that the November election winner pick Ginsburg’s replacement. And if we don’t get it? Shut it down.

Garry Kasparov tweeted, with the second part added a day later:

When one group fights for power at all costs vs a group fighting for the rule of law, the second group had damned well better mobilize while it still can, because it only gets harder. Trust me on this one. Wow, this obliges me to remind you that likes and retweets don't count as mobilization! Make sure you're registered, help register others, march, make calls, donate, canvass. Fight the fair fight like hell while it's still fair, or soon it won't be.