The death of Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg, a trailblazer for women's rights, has left many inspired and ready to continue the work championed by the late justice, including Fatima Goss Graves, president and CEO of the National Women's Law Center.
"I will keep her memory with me as we forge extraordinary fights ahead and I am, again, buoyed by her last words, which to me are a meaningful and real reminder that the best way to respect her legacy is to fight for this court and this institution," Graves told Cheddar, referring to reports that Ginsburg requested she not be replaced on the Court until the next president is sworn in. Despite the wish, Republicans are planning to move forward quickly.
For Graves, her own mission and life's work, she said, would not be at all possible without Ginsburg's efforts in court.
"The National Women's Law Center as an organization would not have existed but for that landmark Reed decision that Justice Ginsburg argued," she stated.
In the case of Reed v. Reed, as then-head of the Women's Rights Project at the ACLU, Ginsburg successfully argued that not appointing a woman as the administrator of an estate solely based on sex was unconstitutional. The Supreme Court decision in the case led the way for other gender discrimination cases and subsequent changes to hundreds of laws that discriminated against women.
Graves said that while Ginsburg's death was felt immensely across many demographics, the loss is particularly hard for female lawyers.
"She is an icon broadly, but for women lawyers in this country and for those who deeply understand justice and what it means, she's really a hero," she continued.
Ginsburg was known for using her judicial platform to acknowledge legal difficulties faced by the disenfranchised and underrepresented, often pointing out to her peers, particularly on the Supreme Court, that their decisions have real-life consequences.
"People saw her as a champion for real people at the Court. And she ensured that the Court didn't seem too disconnected, including in her very last term," Graves explained.
While the justice may have been 87 years old, the impact of her work, according to Graves, is even connecting with children.
"There are drawings and flowers and art in her memory and people are coming and using it as an opportunity to tell their children not only about Justice Ginsburg and her life but about her legacy. Her legacy for justice and her legacy for the people," she said.
A bipartisan group of 43 representatives joined forces in a letter to President Joe Biden to remind the executive branch that it must seek the approval of Congress before authorizing a war — whether or not its in Ukraine as Russia continues its invasion. Rep. Peter DeFazio (D-Ore. 4th District) led the effort and joined Cheddar News Wrap to explain. "It's time for Congress to get back the authority, which is vested to us in the constitution, not in the executive branch," he said. "The president. once we're at war, we speak with one voice with the commander in chief. But before that, it's up to the American people and Congress whether or not we're going to become engaged in a war."
Chris Konstantinos, Chief Investment Strategist at RiverFront Investment Group, explains why he remains encouraged about the S&P and the state of the market despite the major indexes closing mostly lower on Monday.
President Joe Biden will be delivering his first State of the Union address on Tuesday night, and with so many issues from Ukraine to inflation, everyone will be focused on what he might say. Rep. Nicole Malliotakis (R-N.Y. 11th District) joined Cheddar News to discuss what she thinks the president should address. "I think what he hasn't done yet is go after the gas, the oil, the minerals, the mining industries, that is incredibly important," she said. "There's still some banks there that are not sanctioned. He needs to go after all the banks, but I also think that providing the equipment that Ukraine needs to continue to protect its capital and its country are incredibly important."
As Russia’s attack on Ukraine continues, one of its few big allies remaining appears to be China. Gordon Chang, Asian affairs expert and author of "The Coming Collapse of China," joined Cheddar News to discuss what might be behind China's support for Putin's current strategy. “I think China is looking at what Putin did yesterday, which is to raise his nuclear forces on a higher alert level,” Chang stated, “If they see that Putin gets away with his nuclear threats, which he's been making over the last three or four days, then I'm sure that Beijing is going to ramp up its threats as well, and it could ramp them up against any number of different countries with which it perceives it has a problem with"
Joel Rubin, president of the Washington Strategy Group and former Deputy Assistant Secretary of State, joins Cheddar News to discuss the Russia-Ukraine tensions and the new sanctions President Biden placed on Russia.
Officials from Ukraine and Russia have begun meeting along the Belarus border to discuss a potential end to the ongoing invasion, even as the fighting continues to drag on. Rep. Al Green (D-Texas 9th District) joined Cheddar's Opening Bell to discuss the conflict between Russia and Ukraine, what to expect from President Joe Biden's State of The Union Address, and the nomination of Ketanji Brown Jackson for the Supreme Court. "I'm still hopeful, and I hope that Mr. Putin will understand that he has united the world against him," Green said of the new round of peace talks.
Within hours of Russia's first attack on Ukraine, President Joe Biden addressed the nation by stating that the White House will impose wider sanctions on Russian banks. These sanctions could result in damage to the Russian economy. Host of "Oh My World" on Youtube and Former Spokesperson for the U. S. Mission to the U. N. Hagar Chemali, joined Cheddar to discuss more.
