The naked partisan brawl over their hallowed Supreme Court seat is another reflection of the bosses' inability to govern "in the old way"–of their turn toward fascism.  It wasn't so long ago that Ruth Bader Ginsburg and arch-racist "intellectual" Antonin Scalia were besties who went to the opera together. It was like Joe Biden's warm and collaborative relationships with Jim Crow senators James Eastland and Strom Thurmond ("one of my closest friends," Biden once said). Whatever their disagreements, they were on the same team. But given the sharpening contradictions of capitalism, that era is gone.
As the fight among the bosses sharpens, the death of Ruth Bader Ginsburg exposes some of the problems the Big Fascist bosses are having within their own ranks with selfishness. Ginsburg as a judge willingly defended the racist anti-working-class policies of the Big Fascist liberal bosses, but when push came to shove, she, like many in the capitalist class, put herself above the class needs of the bosses. When then President Barack Obama took her to lunch and hinted that she should resign so he could appoint her successor, she refused. This type of subjectivity is causing problems for the Big Fascists as they struggle to take down Donald Trump and his Small Fascist backers in preparation for war with China.
The Big Fascists bosses are trying to mobilize around the mythology that the Supreme Court has the power/potential to defend the working class against rogue presidents or a right-wing Congress. The Big Fascist bosses want us to believe that it's essential to elect Biden (and Obama and Hillary Clinton before him) to appoint "progressive" justices and in particular to preserve Roe v. Wade.  This big lie that liberal politicians or judges will defend the working class has led to disasters such as Bill Clinton and Biden teaming up to throw millions of Black workers into prison. Where was the Supreme Court then? The Court (like the President and Congress) responds to mass militancy in the streets and mass movements in general. Reforms, however temporary, are driven by class struggle, not a group of nine ruling-class stooges in robes.
For her part Ginsburg was an eager stooge of the bosses racist system. She consistently carried out her job to enshrine and protect racist policies. In her decision in Sherrill v. Oneida, she ruled against indigenous people with “the language in that opinion…considered some of the more overtly racist language in its challenge and skepticism of tribal interests” (Marshall Project, 9/23/20). In United States v. Sineneng-Smith, Ginsburg argued for prosecution of advocates for migrant workers who “encouraged” those workers to enter the country. She supported the Atlantic Coast Pipeline and the Trump administration's policy of speeding deportation of asylum-seekers (Politico, 9/20) This is on top of her rulings in support of prosecutors and searches by police officers (Ohio State Law Journal, Vol. 70:4).
Ginsburg was a "federalist," which is short-hand for the racist "states' rights" movement that goes back to slavery days. Her racism sometimes slipped through her "progressive" façade. Most famously she was particularly tone deaf when she called Colin Kaepernick’s protests “stupid and dumb.” (She was later forced to apologize for this). She also had the worst record of any current justice in hiring Black law clerks, a coveted pathway to becoming a judge, having only one in her 27 years in the Supreme Court.  As devoted as Ginsburg was to defending a racist system, she exemplified the contradictions within the ruling class’ politicians, and in this case a judge, who demanded seemingly unlimited fame or money or both in reward for their service. Her individualism and refusal to retire when Obama was President is another example of the lack of discipline within the capitalist class.
Just a quick look at the ages of the leading politicians says a lot about the rulers failure to create space for younger leadership. Trump 74, Biden 77, Mitch McConnell 78, Nancy Pelosi 80. It raises a question as to whether Biden will, should he win, be willing to step down after one term or insist on running again at the age of 81. But it’s not just the age issue for the bosses. While the working class has been bearing the brunt of the capitalist crisis in lowered life expectancy, increased poverty and miserable health care, the bosses servants in Washington are demanding and receiving more and more for their loyalty.
As the political class makes demands, the culture of self-servingness dominates. Bill Clinton was caught sleeping with an intern, yet to this day he is defended by his fellow Democrats. Then, after leaving the White House, the Clintons raked in millions through donations from bosses from other countries to their foundation as well as big bucks for speaking on Wall Street. The Obamas have taken in over $60 million in television and book deals since leaving the White House. The Biden and Trump families have gorged themselves at the trough of capitalists from around the globe by selling their connections. In a period where the ruling class is preparing a fascist crackdown to prepare for war, the gross selfishness of their front people is becoming untenable for them.