Widely know to the American public, Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg recently passed away at the age of 87. She was appointed to the Supreme Court in 1993 by former President Bill Clinton, and it is now time to find someone who will take her place.

On Tuesday, November 3, U.S. citizens will come together to vote for who will lead the country for the next four years. The current president, Donald Trump, is working his hardest to get the new Supreme Court Justice appointed before the election. 

According to CNN, in February of 2016, Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia passed away, and it was President Obama’s job to choose someone to be the replacement. Republican Senator Mitch McConnell, the leader of the Senate, however, thought it was too close to the 2016 presidential election and blocked Obama from making the decision.

In 2016, McConnell stated to the press, “The American people should have a voice in the selection of their next Supreme Court Justice. Therefore, this vacancy should not be filled until we have a new president.”

Obama had roughly 240 days to make his decision.

Trump now only has 12.

And McConnell has done a 180-degree turn. He isn’t planning on blocking Trump from the ability to choose a new justice. In fact, he is leading the charge to make it happen in a short amount of time before the election.

According to The Washington Post, McConnell issued a statement on Friday, September 18, saying, “Americans reelected our majority in 2016 and expanded it in 2018 because we pledged to work with President Trump and support his agenda, particularly his outstanding appointments to the federal judiciary. Once again, we will keep our promise. President Trump’s nominee will receive a vote on the floor of the United States Senate.”

Many people would call this hypocrisy, speaking of how he changed his whole mindset over the course of four years. And I am one of those people.

You can’t have two different sets of rules for appointing a Supreme Court Justice depending on what political party you are in. If Obama had 240 days before the election to choose a justice but was told he was too crunched for time, why should Trump be allowed the chance with only 12 days remaining?

That’s hypocritical. That’s not fair.

If in 2016 republicans thought that the winner of the election should pick the new Supreme Court Justice, so why do they not think that in 2020?

That’s hypocritical. That’s not fair.

In 2020, the Republicans think the current president has the right to choose the next Supreme Court Justice, so in 2016, why did they not think that the current president should get to choose?

That’s hypocritical. That’s not fair.

The opposing side obviously disagrees. They argue that since Republicans won the White House and control the Senate that they have earned the right to choose a Supreme Court Justice as soon as possible before the election.

They believe that it’s not hypocritical.

They believe that it is fair. 

Ponder over what the younger generation is going to think of this. The generation that I’m a part of. What is going on in the world of politics today is showing us that all that truly matters is who is in charge. Not what everyone wants for this country. Do they want us to believe that politics and government are what makes this country strong and unique? A place where everyone is proud to call home?

Or is it all just a game?