Unfortunately for the peace of the country, Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg died less than two months before a Presidential election.  Preliminary discussions regarding filling her seat on the Supreme Court are already underway. Battle lines between liberals and conservatives have been drawn, and each side is girded for conflict.  I pray there is no violence.

Leftist spokespersons are blowing trumpets for a coming Armageddon.  Hollywood filmmaker Rob Reiner is declaring war on Republicans over who will replace Ginsburg.  “This is war.” wrote Reiner. “Dems have powerful weapons.  Now is the time to use them.”  Reiner followed with a personal attack on Trump.  “We must fight not to allow an impeached criminal to take her seat.”  

Some leftist extremists are expressing vile threats.  One tweeted that “If they even try to replace RBG we burn the f—-kg thing down.”  Another said, “We’re shutting this country down if Trump and McConnell try to ram through an appointment before the election.”  Democrat legislators in the Senate and House joined in the verbal fray.  Most of them urge that selection and confirmation of a new Supreme Court nominee not take place until after the election.  Then, if the Democrats win the Senate, they will insist confirmation be delayed until the newly elected Senators take their seats.  Of course, if Trump is not reelected, a new nominee will be put forward by a Democrat President.

Republican leaders wish for nomination and confirmation as soon as possible, preferably before the November 3 election.  To achieve that, however, will require extraordinarily expeditious action on the part of the Senate, and it is not certain that a sufficient number of Republican senators will lock step to get the job done.  If a confirmation vote is delayed until after the election and the Democrats have won the Senate, there will be immense pressure to delay the confirmation vote until the new Senate is installed.

Should the Republicans aggressively plough ahead and confirm quickly, the Democrats are threatening to pack the courts once they are in power.  The size of the Supreme Court is set by legislation, not by the  Constitution.  Federal courts packed with activist judges would forever change the nature of our democracy.

All these factors provide fuel for a political conflagration.

Throw in Antifa and BLM and perhaps we are truly headed for Armageddon.