Ginsburg’s granddaughter cuts election ad for progressive group: ‘Make her voice heard at the ballot box’

The granddaughter of Ruth Bader Ginsburg is calling on voters to honor the late Supreme Court justice’s legacy and “make her voice heard at the ballot box” in a new ad from liberal political advocacy groups MoveOn and Demand Justice. 

“To the world, she was an icon, the Notorious RBG,” Clara Spera, a lawyer and women’s rights activist, begins in the ad. 

“But to me, she was Bubbie,” Spera says, referring to the Yiddish word for “grandmother.” 

“Her final wish was that her seat on the Supreme Court not be filled until after the election. It’s up to us to make her voice heard at the ballot box, to keep fighting the battles she waged for women’s equality and justice for all,” Spera adds in the video, titled “Notorious.” 

Ginsburg died in September after losing a battle with pancreatic cancer. 

“My grandmother changed the course of history,” she continues, “Now it’s our turn.”

“Make a plan. Vote by Tuesday,” Spera tells viewers. 

Spera’s video appearance comes just three days before the presidential election, with Democratic nominee Joe Biden leading President Trump in national polling. 

A Fox News poll released Friday showed Biden with an 8 percentage point lead over Trump, 52 percent to 44 percent.  

The most recent polling average from RealClearPolitics shows a similar margin, with Biden holding a 7.8 percentage point lead over the sitting president, although the race is much closer in key battleground states, including Florida and Pennsylvania. 

Following the news of Ginsburg’s death, NPR reported that Ginsburg had told Spera, “My most fervent wish is that I will not be replaced until a new president is installed.”

However, Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.), within hours of the news of Ginsburg’s death, said that the upper chamber would vote on Trump’s Supreme Court pick before the election. 

Democrats repeatedly condemned the move as well as the subsequent nomination and Senate Judiciary Committee hearings pushed forth by GOP lawmakers for Amy Coney Barrett. 

Barrett was confirmed 52-48 in a largely party-line vote Monday. Only one GOP senator — Sen. Susan Collins (Maine) — opposed Barrett’s nomination because of its proximity to Election Day.

Democrats and women’s rights advocates worry that the now 6-3 conservative majority on the high court will lead to the overturning of the historic landmark decision in Roe v. Wade, which established a woman’s right to an abortion. 

Ginsburg herself was seen by many as a champion for reproductive rights and equal access to health care for women. 

During Barrett’s confirmation hearings, she said that she did not consider Roe v. Wade a “superprecedent,” a term meaning a decision so widely accepted that it is invulnerable to serious legal challenges that could see it overturned.

However, Barrett has repeatedly declined to offer her personal opinion on various court rulings, including Roe v. Wade, arguing it would be a violation of judicial conduct.