General Discussion
Related: Editorials & Other Articles, Issue Forums, Alliance Forums, Region ForumsWe can thank George H.W. Bush for Clarence Thomas. He gets full credit.
I don't know what to think of this person, 34 years on the SC and what legal doctrine does he follow? Or is his opinion mailed in by the Federalist society in exchange for hi-discount gas cards?
dchill
(38,502 posts)I watched the hearings in 1991.
OAITW r.2.0
(24,504 posts)jimfields33
(15,820 posts)DFW
(54,403 posts)Thomas dates from 1991. W wouldnt even have known what questions to ask a potential nominee to the Supreme Court. Roberts and Alito are Cheneys creations (hey, we got this scam called Citizens United, but it doesnt work unless the Supreme Court upholds it. Will you so vote, or do I need another nominee?)
OAITW r.2.0
(24,504 posts)DFW
(54,403 posts)NJCher
(35,684 posts)Wagners show, a thought that surged through my head was a previous interview in which he professed his alliance with Ginni.
I remember watching that and thinking, this is not normal. You dont even have a self, do you?
JustAnotherGen
(31,828 posts)Like Just Ken - and he's taking his lack of agency in his own marriage out on every single woman in America.
alwaysinasnit
(5,066 posts)Thomas is a self hating monster
JHB
(37,160 posts)Ever since Bork. And in hindsight, despite all the conservative shouting about it, did anything Kennedy said turn out to be inaccurate?
And so they kept at it. They thought Souter was one, but that turned out to be a misfire. He had a mind of his own.
Boy, did they make sure they never made that mistake again.
To quote myself from (looks at watch) ten years ago:
https://www.democraticunderground.com/?com=view_post&forum=1002&pid=4572812
...NOT because he was the most qualified jurist. He wasn't.
...NOT because he was the most qualified black jurist. He wasn't.
...NOT because he was the most qualified black conservative jurist. He wasn't.
He was the most qualified black conservative with reliable but obfuscatable views on abortion & other subjects, and was young enough that he'd stay on the court for decades.
The Democratic senators were initially ready to give him a pass, since 1) they didn't look forward to another SC nomination battle, and 2) initially the black community was receptive to Thomas -- not enthusiastic, but not inclined to oppose -- and a fight against him wouldn't be well received.
At the time I thought Thomas should have been voted down just because of his lackluster record and ignoring conflict of interest (Thomas failed to recuse himself in a case involving the Ralston Purina company, where his political mentor Sen. John Danforth owned millions in stock and had brothers on the board of directors. Thomas' decision in favor of Purina directly benefited his pals).
Black opinion didn't shift until later in the process, after Thurgood Marshall made his "a black snake is still a snake" comment. The senators were finally forced to take a harder line when the harassment charges leaked out, and giving Thomas a pass would piss off another Democratic constituency: women fighting workplace harassment.
But all that happened too late: by that point conservatives were ginned up in support and the rest of the establishment didn't want another high-profile fight, so the Thomas hearings were kept to a he-said-she-said with Anita Hill (Angela Wright was shunted off to the side), giving the senators their excuse to just put it behind them.
So here we are, a quarter-century later, and he's still a lackluster jurist who ignores conflicts of interest, and is a reliable conservative operative in the courts.
brooklynite
(94,591 posts)He was 72 when Reagan beat Carter, who never got a SC appointment. He could have retired after the election and the Democratic Senate could have approved a young liberal justice.
no_hypocrisy
(46,119 posts)October Surprise in 1980.
brooklynite
(94,591 posts)SocialDemocrat61
(607 posts)Marshall left the court in 1991 and died in 93. He had no way of knowing in 80 that Democrats would lose the next 2 elections. Maybe blame Democrats for nominating 2 terrible candidates in a row instead of blaming a great man like Marshall.
Ursus Rex
(148 posts)I remember watching with horror and fascination at the whole nasty spectacle.
I'm very glad that he (Biden) has come around to the new political realities of the US.