Ruth Bader Ginsburg on Hobby Lobby: My male colleagues have a "blind spot" about women

RBG weighs in on Hobby Lobby, Citizens United and the "blind spot" she feels her male colleagues suffer from

Published July 31, 2014 2:29PM (EDT)

  (AP/Matt Sayles)
(AP/Matt Sayles)

In an interview with Katie Couric released on Thursday, Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg put an optimistic spin on the legacy of high-profile decisions like Hobby Lobby and Citizens United. "We have a great tradition in our country: Justices who disagree with the court's opinion explaining why they disagree. Many of those dissents are now unquestionably the law of the land," she said, citing the dissent in Plessy v. Ferguson, the 1896 Supreme Court decision upholding state laws that racially segregated public facilities.

On Hobby Lobby, and her scathing 35-page dissent, Ginsburg said her male colleagues have a "blind spot" when it comes to women. "Do you believe that the five male justices truly understood the ramifications of their decision?" Couric asked Ginsburg. "I would have to say no," she replied.

Ginsburg again ended her thought on a positive. "But justices continue to think and can change," she continued. "I am ever hopeful that if the court has a blind spot today, its eyes will be open tomorrow."

And as for the calls for her to retire? RBG wants the public to STFU.

"All I can say is that I am still here and likely to remain for a while," she said.

There's also this sweet aside about her late husband, Marty, and what made their relationship strong.

"I had a life partner who thought my work was as important as his," she told Couric. "And I think that made all the difference for me, and Marty was an unusual man. In fact, he was the first boy I knew who cared that I had a brain."

And what a brain it is.

You can watch the full interview here:


By Katie McDonough

Katie McDonough is Salon's politics writer, focusing on gender, sexuality and reproductive justice. Follow her on Twitter @kmcdonovgh or email her at kmcdonough@salon.com.

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Citizens United Hobby Lobby Ruth Bader Ginsburg Video