Opinion: Scalia and Ginsburg Explained

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In this Oct. 6, 2011 photo, Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia participates at the third annual Washington Ideas Forum at the Newseum in Washington. The late Supreme Court Justice, Tom Cruise, and Stephen Colbert are among the 51 people nominated for the New Jersey Hall of Fame. The hall honors people in five categories who live or have lived in New Jersey. (AP Photo/Manuel Balce Ceneta)
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We are hearing a lot about “civility” or lack of it in our politics today. That topic came up in the comments section of my Monday OpEd pushing back on the leftist canonization of the now deceased Supreme Court justice.

Read: Opinion: No Hagiography for Ginsburg

One of my commenters, just_doing_my_part said:

Somehow Scalia cultivated a respectful friendship with her. This goes beyond my understanding.

I agree with him. That well touted relationship has had me stymied for a long time. How could Justice Antonin Scalia, a devout Catholic and by all accounts, a pretty straight shooter, be friends with someone who had such horrific views on the sanctity of human life as Ruth Ginsburg believed, advocated, and promoted from the bench?

I’m pretty sure that Justice Scalia wouldn’t define friend simply as somebody who follows you on Facebook. I surely wouldn’t. Best Friends is an even higher bar to clear. My best friends are the 5 guys I would call if for some reason my daughter had found herself in a Thai jail cell during her semester studying there. If I had to call them, the only questions they would ask: When do we leave? Do you need more money to fund the operation? And—Is the CSM going with us? Actually the CSM wouldn’t ask that question. He would know the answer.

With that scenario and relationship definition in mind as I scrolled through the commentary, a possible answer came to me, which I’ll share further down. Later on during the day, I ran into an article by Christopher Scalia, son of the late great Antonin Scalia. In the article lede and further down, Scalia fils, claimed that his father and Ginsburg had been long time friends, going back their time together on the D.C Court of Appeals.

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Here’s the lede and a short excerpt:

Friendship began when they were judges on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit in the ’80s

My parents celebrated many a New Year’s Eve with the Ginsburgs, visiting their apartment to enjoy one of Mr. Ginsburg’s gourmet creations and celebrate long into the night.

Read: Christopher Scalia: My father’s relationship with Justice Ginsburg – ‘best of friends’

So, for a long time, these two had been good buddies despite their huge differences. Why? Further down, validation of my answer became clear.

One of the most remarkable things about their friendship, as far as I’m concerned, right up there with their ideological differences, was that this set of old-timers could stay up into the wee, small hours of the morning every year, out-partying their children.

Think about this. Scalia and Ginsburg are miles apart on many issues…more than a few of them are life and death…the singularly most important of those, the issue of when does a human being become a human being and thus become entitled to the full protections of the law. Even with such a divergent opinion on such an issue, I can understand being civil and proper in the workplace.

What I cannot understand how I could actively socialize (other than on official business) with somebody who holds certain views. Over at American Thinker, Andrea Widberg has yet again another stellar article out on Ginsburg. Here is the money quote:

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wouldn’t be surprised if one of the reasons she was such an advocate for the club-like civility of the Supreme Court was that it kept the other members from calling her out on her dishonesty.

Read: Ginsburg’s loyalty to leftism meant she was often intellectually dishonest

Alas, Ms Widberg only solves half my problem. She doesn’t address Scalia and his friendship. When I finally put it all together, it became obvious. They are lawyers. They can stay detached from their clients and cases. They can lose in the courtroom once in a while, then go home and have dinner with the family…or out for drinks with opposing counsel.

To some, it’s ultimately a grand game. Scalia is said to have enjoyed the fight itself. Ultimately, as much as I liked Scalia, it might be just that simple….just a game they can all walk away all collegial-like at the end of the day. Something else to consider, when you are at the top of the heap (as in being a SCOTUS Justice, or Senator or Cabinet Official or Fortune 500 CEO), no matter what foul decisions come out of the Supreme Court, none of them will really affect you or your family. That’s only for us peons. It’s easy to be friends then.

Remember one thing. On the left, that’s just an act. They always have the endgame in sight….just like Ginsburg. Her only error in her servitude to the leftist agenda, was that failure to pop smoke early enough to deny a Republican President the opportunity to replace her. I’d really appreciate your thoughts in the comment section on this one.

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