The late Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg’s body lay in state at the capitol in Washington DC this Friday, a week after her death. She becomes the first woman and first Jewish person to lie in state. Government officials and lawmakers filed by to pay their respects Democratic Presidential nominee Joe Biden and his wife Jill, and Biden’s running mate Kamala Harris. Top GOP figures Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell and House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy were conspicuously absent. On Thursday while Ginsburg’s coffin lay at the Supreme Court President Donald Trump and First Lady Melania paid their respects, both wearing face coverings. As Trump stood a gathered crowd nearby began booing loudly and then chanted “vote him out,” and “honor her wish.”

Democratic Party leaders appear to have capitulated instantly to the Republican push to fill Ginsburg’s seat at lightning speed even though four years ago the GOP refused to allow Obama to fill a vacancy. The Daily Poster on Thursday published parts of an internal memo that outlined a series of possible tactics that Democrats could adopt to undermine a Senate confirmation hearing for Trump’s nominee – tactics that the liberal party seems loathe to use. Even as the minority party Democratic Senators could require procedures that keep GOP Senators who are facing close reelection races to remain in Washington until November 3rd. Instead, in an interview on MSNBC, Democratic Senator Cory Booker said he wanted to appeal to the Republicans’ “sense of decency” over the fight for Ginsburg’s Supreme Court seat. Democrats are also introducing a measure to limit Supreme Court justices to 18-year term limits – which would not apply to any current sitting Justice. Trump says he will announce his nominee on Saturday. 

On Thursday Trump, for the second day in a row, declined to commit to a peaceful transition of power if he were to lose the election. He said, “We want to make sure that the election is honest, and I’m not sure that it can be,” reviving his favorite claim that the election is not trustworthy because people are being sent ballots in the mail during a pandemic. In a speech, Vermont Senator Bernie Sanders warned that, “This is not just an election between Donald Trump and Joe Biden. This is an election between Donald Trump and democracy.” Sanders endorsed a call for a national nonpartisan election commission to ensure the integrity of the race. The U.S. Senate in what was an apparent rebuke to Trump’s threats, unanimously passed a non-binding resolution supporting a peaceful transition to power. But Republican Senators have refused to criticize Trump by name, except for GOP Senator Ben Sasse who dismissed concerns...