Sorry for the lack of order, I just remembered that this was sitting on my desktop. I wrote this on September 21st, 2020, after Ruth Bader Ginsberg’s death. Her bravery and strength in trying to hold on until “this nightmare is over” (her words, or words to that effect) might shame those GOPers who are heading to CPAC this week to kiss the nether regions of the Donald, despite the humiliations and debasements that they have suffered at his hands. That is, of course, assumes they have any shame left. Alas, it is pretty clear that they don’t.
When Ted Kennedy died in 2009, some dweeb named Scott Brown (R) was elected to replace him as US Senator from Massachusetts. I remember apologizing to Kennedy’s shade: “Sorry Ted, that’s a really crappy epitaph”. Turns out that Brown was a correctable mistake, and was replaced in short order by Elizabeth Warren. If anyone cares, Brown went up north to New Hampshire to try and break into “live free or die” politics, but the Granite Staters were having none of it. No Massholes need apply.
With the passing of Ruth Bader Ginsberg, we now face a similar situation. How do you replace a giant? We know that Mitch and his band of faithful idiots will do their best to ram though some half-baked jurist with conservative credentials. Unlike Kennedy/Brown, though, this won’t be an easily correctable situation. Whatever gomer they find for RBG’s replacement could potentially sit on the bench for the next twenty years. As an example, I give you Clarence Thomas, a nonentity who has faithfully repaid his cynical Republican backers by voting thoughtlessly along party lines since 1991.
Which brings me to the Boomer Apology Tour. Let’s face it. Our generation has not exactly covered itself in glory. We were a generation born into an era where (at least us white males) could count on enough to eat, promise of an education and a job, regardless of how much dope we smoked. Yes, we had to hide under our desks for fear of an H-bomb attack and avoid getting drafted for Vietnam. But for most of us, these anxieties were only echoes: The USSR is now a distant memory, and a college degree, teaching deferment or bone spurs was sufficient to keep you from getting shot at by Victor Charlie.
Boomer politicians have by and large reflected their generation: Clinton, however relieved you were when he was elected, was a seriously flawed character, easily bored and saved from disaster only by the relatively calm times he oversaw. George W. Bush only lost his status as “worst president ever” by the election of that flower of the Boomers, Trump. I leave Obama out of this lineup, since African Americans have struggles the rest of us can’t comprehend, and those trials made Obama who he is. In fact, all Blacks and Latinos of Boomer age are automatically excused from this generational indictment. If you have made it this far, congratulations, you’ve earned it.
I think it is time for us old white Boomer boys to get off of our butts and hobble, wheeze and crutch our way down to DC to head off what could be the crowning disaster of the Trump presidency. We can make Mitch McConnell and his cronies stumble over our decrepit bodies, which, let’s face it, are past their better days in any case and not good for much else. And while we’re at it, we can publicly apologize to our kids and grandkids for fucking things up as badly as we have. “My bad” doesn’t even begin to cover it.
To be clear, I would like to give Amy Coney Barrett the benefit of the doubt. A surprising number of SCOTUS members over the years have experienced a burst of freedom in their thinking once they are through the appointment process and don’t have to answer to political masters anymore. At least she has kept her mouth shut on the train of Trump suits brought before the Court. We’ll be watching….