Scalia and Ginsburg: odd couple were best of friends

Regardless of your political persuasion - be it liberal Democrat or conservative Republican - few would argue that Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia was a man of integrity to be admired.

Among his many outstanding qualities was an ability to not let ideology affect his life outside the Supreme Court chambers.

Not until Scalia's recent death did many of us discover that his closest friend on the court was Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg.

It was a most unlikely friendship, giving substance to that old saying that "opposites attract."

Scalia and Ginsburg had a deep respect for each other's views, despite being on opposite sides of many social issues dividing the nation, including abortion, affirmative action, campaign funding, the death penalty, the environment, gay rights and gun rights.

Ginsburg once referred to the late justice as her "best buddy."

"It was my great good fortune to have known him as working colleague and treasured friend," she said in a statement following his death on Feb. 13.

At a George Washington University event with Ginsburg this year, Scalia tried to explain their "odd couple" friendship.

"She likes opera, and she's a very nice person. What's not to like?" he quipped. "Except her views on the law."

Both had a very different vision of the Constitution and its protection for liberty and equality.

Scalia insisted the Constitution should be interpreted the way its original writers would have understood it. Ginsburg, meanwhile, believes the Constitution's guarantee of "equal protection" of the laws must evolve with society.

When the court ended with a close split on President Barack Obama's health care law and Arizona's strict immigration law in 2012, Scalia and Ginsburg had agreed in just 56 percent of the term's cases, the lowest rate of any two justices.

Among the 5-4 decisions determined by the justices, they agreed just 7 percent of the time.

There have been a number of political odd couples in our history who managed to put party loyalties aside for the good of the nation.

Although President Ronald Reagan's Republican party never controlled both houses of Congress while he was in office in the 1980s, he and the Democratic House Speaker Tip O'Neill overcame political differences to help pass some key bipartisan legislation, including reforms of the Social Security trust fund and tax system.

James Carville, a former Democratic political adviser and Mary Matalin, a conservative media commentator, got to know each other well in the 1992 presidential campaign.

Their true odd couple relationship progressed to a marriage that endures today. Although they're polar opposites when it comes to politics, the couple joked several years ago that most of their arguments are about things like the air conditioning in the house.

These examples may be rare, but they show that there can be room for compromise despite the clashes of ideologies or vastly different opinions.

As in the case of an unlikely alliance like Scalia and Ginsburg, strong friendships can even result.

Beyond the large conservative footprint Scalia left on the Supreme Court, his story of friendship with Ginsburg was a breath of fresh air to us, especially in light of this ugly presidential race that has produced some nasty verbal jousting and demeaning personal attacks by some candidates.

By JIM ZBICK | tneditor@tnonline.com