Is it me, or is our Supreme Court beginning to resemble a chapter of the Proud Boys?
It's bad enough Amy Coney Barrett was just filmed at a GOP mega-conference completely dismissing the implications of a SCOTUS judge's wife doing everything she can to help to overthrow our Democracy, but what does it say about us as a nation when a Hollywood actor has the ability to ‘read the room’ and resign, but a sitting Supreme Court Justice defiantly refuses?
In the wake of CNN and the Washington Post breaking the shocking news that Virgina "Ginni" Thomas, wife of conservative SCOTUS Justice Clarence Thomas, was caught doing everything she could to assist in overturning the 2020 election, legendary CBS anchor Dan Rather tweeted "What did Clarence Thomas know? And when did he know it?"
With all due respect to Mr. Rather, it matters not what or when Thomas knew. The revelation that his spouse was/is working in lockstep with conspiracy-pushing crackpots has all but eviscerated whatever modicum of impartiality remained with regards to a Supreme Court Justice who happened to be the lone dissenting vote against turning over Trumps records to the January 6 committee. And that's the ballgame.
In what world can a sitting SCOTUS justice continue to preside over cases with the air of impartiality while his wife is running around seeking to undermine the very Democracy on which he sits atop?
Keep in mind, it's not like Thomas hasn't been leaning to the Right a bit in his career. In his entire tenure on the bench, Thomas hasn't come down on the side of Democracy, or the Constitution, once. He has proven himself a rock-steady beacon of corporate conservative ideology - going as far as to dissent when the court invalidated the conviction of a black man tried six times for the same crime by the same prosecutor with juries that were either all white or nearly all white. Perhaps Thomas grew up in a house without mirrors? That would be the only rational explanation for his seemingly anti-black, bordering on racist, judgements. Nonetheless, it's now known that his wife has been caught red handed using her position to help coordinate the insurrection. And, beyond that, it’s now known she played a major role in advising the president as to which pro-fascist individuals to appoint to his administration. Some of whom were even too crazy for Trump. Let that sink in. We're not talking about a potentially illegal campaign contribution. The fact that the wife of a sitting United States Supreme Court Justice is a conspiracy-pushing zealot means that the career of her husband is all but over. The question now is, what happens next? Sadly, it appears only a small handful of Dems, AOC, Omar, etc., have shown they possess the guts to call for Thomas to resign, and last I checked, Speaker Pelosi isn’t one of them. This is beyond pathetic. Anyone not having the guts to call for Thomas to resign should resign, themselves. Not to mention, when your Congress has to pass a law forcing Supreme Court judges to "behave ethically," you know we're not in Kansas anymore.
Besides, Thomas retiring/resigning isn’t nearly enough. How many decisions has he weighed in on, including his lone dissent re: January 6, either with the influence of his wife and/or behind the scenes influence of Right-wing super PACs? Thomas needs to be impeached and an investigation into his conduct needs to be opened.
But, who are we kidding? This is “Amerika.” The land of zero accountability. The land where Senators who attempted to overturn an election are allowed to sit in judgement of the next SCOTUS nominee, as if it’s business as usual. The land where a Manchurian president can appoint three illegitimate hacks to the highest court in our land, attempt a coup, and, so far, get away with it. If you're thinking Merrick Garland will come to our rescue, think again. If he hasn’t yet held a small fish like Mark Meadows in contempt, we’re probably not going to see an investigation of a sitting SCOTUS judge on the part of DOJ. After all, the stack of contempt charges in Garland’s “subpoenas closet” are basically on the verge of busting its screws. To the point, even the folks on the January 6 committee have taken to breaking protocol and publicly calling for Garland to “Do his job.”
However, considering where we are at this point, does Thomas resigning even matter? We have a Supreme Court that's already tainted beyond repair, i.e., Mitch McConnell's stonewalling of a nominee for more than a year gave way to the subsequent stacking of Trump lackeys Kavanaugh and Barret - both of whom are superbly unqualified to sit on a park bench, let alone the highest court in our nation. As we watch a "supremely" qualified nominee in Ketanji Brown Jackson sit and endure a barrage of lunacy from this clown car of Republican Senators - many of of whom, themselves, are still hard at work trying to stop the Jan. 6 committee from getting to the truth - one can't help but feel embarrassed for our children and the world we're going to leave them.
Hopefully, Democracy/decency will prevail, but, given what we're bearing witness to on an hourly basis, it's not looking good. Especially, when you consider a Hollywood actor had the sense to resign, but a sitting SCOTUS judge continues to thumb his nose at us, as if he’s King Thomas. All this, in spite of knowing, full well, the damage his presence is doing to the Court, as well as our nation. That should tell you all you need to know about the character of Clarence Thomas. I would like to take this moment to apologize to Anita Hill. You were right all along.