WHY WE SHOULD WORRY ABOUT THE CULT OF RUTH BADER GINSBURG. Though this excerpt has me equally worried about the cult of Politico:

In the broader sweep of American history, this is an inopportune moment to present a current Supreme Court justice as a political hero. Last month, after President Donald Trump dismissed a ruling against his migrant policy as the action of an “Obama judge,” Chief Justice John Roberts took the unusual step of responding directly, declaring in a statement that “We do not have Obama judges or Trump judges, Bush judges or Clinton judges. What we have is an extraordinary group of dedicated judges doing their level best to do equal right to those appearing before them. The independent judiciary is something we should all be thankful for.”

Trump shot back on Twitter: “Sorry, Chief Justice Roberts, but you do indeed have ‘Obama judges,’ and they have a much different point of view than the people who are charged with the safety of our country.”

By the standard of civic disagreements in the Trump era, this was a high-minded exchange, and a revealing one. No doubt many liberals found themselves essentially agreeing with Trump: Republicans have politicized the judicial nomination process, so everyone must look for chances to elevate “our kind” of judges. There’s an element of regret built into that view: In an ideal world, more like the one of four decades ago, judges would be regarded less in terms of who appointed them than how well they live up to their oaths to provide independent justice, without fear or favor.

“Republicans have politicized the judicial nomination process?” Teddy Kennedy could not be reached for comment.