"All respect for the office of the presidency aside, I assumed that the obvious and unadulterated decline of freedom and constitutional sovereignty, not to mention the efforts to curb the power of judicial review, spoke for itself"
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“All respect for the office of the presidency aside” is the kind of throat-clearing that signals a breach is coming. Ginsburg isn’t being polite; she’s declaring jurisdiction. As a judge, she’s trained to speak through opinions, not punditry, so this opening functions like a legal objection: I recognize the formalities, and I’m setting them aside because the stakes demand it.
The sentence then stacks its accusations with prosecutorial rhythm: “obvious,” “unadulterated,” “decline,” “sovereignty.” That piling-on is intentional. It’s not a debate invitation; it’s a refusal to normalize what she frames as institutional backsliding. “Spoke for itself” is the sharpest move here. It’s a withering verdict on the idea that the moment requires yet another explanatory performance from its critics. In her telling, the evidence is already on the table; anyone asking for more is either unserious or complicit.
The subtext is a defense of the judiciary’s role as democracy’s friction, not its ornament. By naming “efforts to curb the power of judicial review,” she’s pointing to a recurring American temptation: when courts block majoritarian or executive ambitions, politicians rebrand constitutional checks as elitist sabotage. Ginsburg’s context - a late-career justice watching norms strain under hyper-partisan pressure - gives the line its urgency. She’s not merely criticizing a president; she’s warning against a power grab disguised as reform, and reminding the reader that “constitutional sovereignty” isn’t a slogan. It’s the limit that makes elected power legitimate.
The sentence then stacks its accusations with prosecutorial rhythm: “obvious,” “unadulterated,” “decline,” “sovereignty.” That piling-on is intentional. It’s not a debate invitation; it’s a refusal to normalize what she frames as institutional backsliding. “Spoke for itself” is the sharpest move here. It’s a withering verdict on the idea that the moment requires yet another explanatory performance from its critics. In her telling, the evidence is already on the table; anyone asking for more is either unserious or complicit.
The subtext is a defense of the judiciary’s role as democracy’s friction, not its ornament. By naming “efforts to curb the power of judicial review,” she’s pointing to a recurring American temptation: when courts block majoritarian or executive ambitions, politicians rebrand constitutional checks as elitist sabotage. Ginsburg’s context - a late-career justice watching norms strain under hyper-partisan pressure - gives the line its urgency. She’s not merely criticizing a president; she’s warning against a power grab disguised as reform, and reminding the reader that “constitutional sovereignty” isn’t a slogan. It’s the limit that makes elected power legitimate.
Quote Details
| Topic | Freedom |
|---|---|
| Source | Help us find the source |
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