Senator Predicts Ruth Bader Ginsburg's Death

Senator Jim Bunning (R-KY) is not exactly the type of guy we'd call America's smartest Senator. His own fellow Kentucky Republican, Rep. Anne Northup, generously termed him "confused." We prefer a stronger word...

Stupid.

This is a man who described his 2004 Democratic challenger, Italian-American Daniel Mongiardo, as looking "like one of Saddam Hussein's sons." That same year, he appeared in the candidates' only debate via satellite and read his answers off a teleprompter. In 2006, Time magazine named him one of America's "Five Worst Senators."

We think that this one tops all of that in terms of phenomenal stupidity. Over the weekend, Bunning apparently predicted the imminent death of Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg.

In a speech to the Hardin County Republican Party at the group's annual Lincoln Day Dinner, Bunning said Ginsburg has "bad cancer. The kind that you don't get better from," according to a report in the Louisville Courier-Journal.

"Even though she was operated on, usually, nine months is the longest that anybody would live" after being diagnosed with the dangerous form of cancer, Bunning said.

A Bunning spokesman declined to comment for this article when reached late Sunday.

For the record, Ginsburg was diagnosed at a very early stage of her cancer, and is scheduled to be back on the job today.

While we predict many more years for the courageous Ginsburg, we are happy to announce that Bunning's days are over. Politically, at least. He faces a possible challenge in the Republican primary, and a now-stronger Mongiardo is gearing up for a rematch.

By the way, if there are any Time writers out there who are going to need a replacement for Bunning on the "Worst Senators" list after he loses in 2010, we have some nominees.