By SILVIO CANTO, JR.

Politics aside, U.S. Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg (RBG) was an extraordinary woman. 

She dedicated her life to the pursuit of jurisprudence and carried on a relentless war against whatever she perceived to be social injustices and legal inequities.

Her battle against cancer was an inspiration for all who’ve dealt with it, directly or indirectly.  

So rest in peace, Justice Ginsburg.

In terms of the upcoming U.S. elections, Ginsburg’s death will certainly mobilize both sides, but will present more problems for Democratic presidential candidate Joe Biden than for the Republicans.

Let me explain why:

To begin with, we already know who President Donald Trump is likely to nominate. He put out his list of candidates weeks ago, unrelated to Ginsberg’s failing health.

Biden, on the other hand, has been avoiding releasing a list of candidates because the left would go crazy if his choices turned out to be more moderate than radical. In other words, don’t expect a Merrick Garland to please that bunch.

The pressure will grow on Biden to present a name, and that’s where his troubles will begin.

Before Ginsburg’s death, Biden could get away with saying “trust me and you’ll be happy with my selection.”  

He can’t do that anymore since the opening is now.

With all due respect to the late Justice Ginsburg, she did not help the Democrats by holding out on stepping down in 2015-16, anticipating a Hillary Clinton victory.  

The situation is no better now because the left base wants a name, and Biden is not sure that he can come up with one that the AOC (Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez) gang will accept.

They are looking for a radical leftist, and any candidate that Biden previews that meets that profile will no doubt be rejected by moderates.

He will have to decide which fraction of the party he wants to court.

One thing is certain: The 2020 U.S. election just got even stranger.

Silvio Canto , Jr. is a Cuban-born U.S. citizen who teaches English at a north Texas college. He is the author of the book “Cubanos in Wisconsin” and has a daily online radio program and blog dealing with U.S. and Latin American politics, as well as sports and historic events.