Clarence Thomas - The Most Dangerous SCOTUS Mind

[GoLeft TV]

The Supreme Court will soon be handing down rulings that will affect everything from workers’ ability to form unions to preserving environmental protections. And the fate of these important issues rests on Clarence Thomas. Ring of Fire’s Mike Papantonio and Ian Millhiser from Think Progress explains why that is so dangerous.

[BlueCaliDem]

1. He can be defused simply by getting out the vote this November

and voting for a Democrat in 2016. Taking back the House is a tall order and not going to happen in the near future, but confirmation of justices to SCOTUS goes through the president and Senate and we need to keep those solidly under our control. Scalia, Bader-Ginsberg, and Kennedy are 80 years old already and will retire (or keel over in their seats, whichever comes first) in the foreseeable future. We can't afford to allow a Republican president and Republican Senate to choose their replacements. That's how we neuter the likes of Thomas, Alito, and Roberts for a lifetime.

[LongTomH]

9. Here's a thought to keep you awake nights.....

Last edited Thu Mar 13, 2014, 03:42 PM - Edit history (1)

The rightwing justices will receive the best health care possible, extending their lives, and their time on the bench by decades. Scalia could easily be handing down decisions well into his 90s.

Dementia? His clerks could write his decisions and commentary.

[BlueCaliDem]

12. Not that bothered about that.

Chief Justice Rehnquist got the best health care this country can provide to the upper 2% and yet he passed away at age 80. I don't see either Kennedy or Scalia making it well into their 90's, so even though they might get the best health care corporations can buy, get dementia before we can replace them, and their corporate-bought clerks can continue to write all their briefs, commentary, and make their decisions - since they've been doing it from the get-go anyway - they're not immortal and their handlers can't prop a corpse on the bench.

It's incumbent upon us to continue to send Democrats to the WH and to the Senate until these two can't hang on to their seats and fail to out-wait a Democratic president and Democratic Senate.

It's essential that we restore balance in our SCOTUS, overturn Citizens United, overturn their decision to scrap Section 4 of the VRA, and strengthen a woman's right to choose. And we can't do that with those corporate-bought right-wingers in the majority.

[gordianot]

2. He was just an asshole when I knew him (or of him) in the 1970"s.

It seems that quality has grown over the decades to truly epic proportions. Anita Hill had it right and Thomas is wise to keep his mouth shut.

[mountain grammy]

3. The majority of our Supreme Court reflects the views of

batshit crazy Ginny Thomas. I cringe at level of corruption that has reached our highest court.

[Plucketeer]

4. A Rube in a Robe

and THIS is the best foot the "Greatest Nation" can find to step towards the future.

[kag]

5. "A buffoon in a black robe" :-)

I LOVE Pap!

[Gothmog]

6. Thomas does not believe in stare decis

Thomas is a bad judge and his opinions are poorly written

[woolldog]

15. They're not poorly written at all.

There's enough to say about him that's negative without making stuff up. His opinions are very well written.

[Gothmog]

16. I disagree strongly with this view

When you ignore existing precedents, then that opinion is not well written in the legal world. Thomas' opinions are really weak if you understand the issues in question. Some of Thomas' dissents are so bad that they are laughable. I am not sure what you are basing your opinion. You should read Thomas' opinions in light of existing court decisions. Thomas' dissents are often so bad that they make me sad

[woolldog]

17. I read plenty of his opinions in law school.

His opinions are consistently well written, and have that reputation to boot.

[Gothmog]

20. The concept of state decisis is an important concept

Thomas was confirmed long after I graduated from law school and passed the bar. I have read a good number of Thomas' opinions and disagree with your opinion on Thomas. Thomas either ignores existing law or twist authorities to the point of being sad. Most of the opinions that I disagree with are opinions are in areas where I practice or know a great deal. I find Thomas' opinions to be weak and poorly reasoned. You are entitled to your opinion but I disagree.

In addition, Scalia also has issues with Thomas' problem with stare decisis. http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A31117-2004Oct13.html. In the ancient days when I was in law school, it was common wisdom that stare decisis was important. Thomas does not believe in stare decisis and his opinions reflect this disregard.

I am comfortable with my opinion on Thomas' opinions. I may be old fashion but I believe that opinions are not well written when they are based on weal reasoning and when these opinions ignore existing law.

[Dustlawyer]

7. He and Scalia should be impeached, not that it would happen.

They spoke to a private Koch group for money and a great getaway, and yes, Ginny Thomas was there too. At that time Koch had numerous cases coming to the Supreme Court which is a huge conflict of interest that would get a Federal Judge or an appellate Justice removed. Scalia said those rules don't apply to them, they can do what they want.
Thomas doesn't ask questions because he doesn't wish to show how stupid he is. He has set his wife up making really great Koch money and all he has to do is violate his oath of office and rule in favor of Koch and their buddies. He is a huge sell out as is Scalia.
I worry about Obama's picks for the Supremes because he only picks corporate Blue Dog Democrats. They are not as bad as Roberts, Scalia, Alito and Thomas, but they are not protectors of the 99%!

[drynberg]

8. During this Pap piece, I was taken back to the Thomas Confirmation Hearing

I was driving to pick up a friend 4 hrs away, listening to NPR, feeling nauseous that this horrible person and lousy lawyer/judge was likely to be confirmed on the Supreme Bench. This was the darkest day in my 65 years of paying attention to America. We do need to get the House back to the Blue, and sooner the better (like yesterday!). I believe that we should institute a Supreme Bench Watch to look for conflicts of interest that come up for certain (ahem) Justices. This SBW would have the power to let the Justice in question know that they can't vote on a case because of a given conflict of interest. Honor, shmonor!

[sorefeet]

10. I think SBW is a good idea

There needs to be a watch group to keep an eye on these crooks. And term limits too. I don't want anything 90 years old making any kind of decision regarding the countries laws. Citizens united is a drop in the bucket as to what they actually could do.

[savannah43]

11. He has a mind? Of his own? Get out!!!

[Tyrs WolfDaemon]

21. He has one, but it is enslaved by Scalia

The first day Thomas showed up at the Supreme Court he had to go to Scalia's private office for a special 'initiation'.

Upon entering the office, he was made to submit to Scalia, mind, body and soul. This had to be done in front of a cabal of right wing politicians, all wearing dark red hooded cloaks that obscured their faces. To prove his allegiance to Scalia and the Ultra Right-Wing secret society in attendance, Thomas had to become Castrati, by his own hand. Scalia now keeps the 'unit' in a jar on his desk. It is rumored that he has other 'units', taken from the secret society members that strayed too close to the center of the political spectrum. The whisperings go on to say that late at night, Scalia can be heard talking to his collection of dismembered dicks.


Ginny Thomas probably has to go and ask to borrow it for special occasions, but that is a subject I would rather not think about.

[radicalliberal]

13. Clarence Thomas: The Ultimate Uncle Tom

(And, no, I don't believe "Uncle Tom" is a racist term; otherwise, I wouldn't use it. Derogatory? Definitely so! Racist? No way!)

And to think I had once believed that Uncle Tom had fallen out of fashion for good and been relegated to the dust bin of history! Well, he's been resurrected in all his subservient, nauseating glory!

Clarence Thomas is a traitor to his race, not to mention posing a serious threat to others in the long term as one of the Supremes. He should be given honorary membership in the Ku Klux Klan. After all, when does he ever fail to do their bidding? As a native-born Texan and simply as a human being, I will always hold George Herbert Walker Bush beneath contempt for appointing him to SCOTUS. Even a Jesse Helms type white bigot would be easier to stomach than Clarence Thomas.

I fear troublesome times are ahead.

[radicalliberal]

14. And to think that G.H.W.B. once called Martin Luther King Jr. "an extremist"!

Give me a break! Yeah, who's the extremist, Bush?

[blkmusclmachine]

19. I read that our own Joe Biden helped get Thomas confirmed to the Court.

[blkmusclmachine]

18. Thomas has been snoozing on the bench for years.