Frank Rich on Clarence Thomas: Nobody Knows the Lynchings He’s Seen

[DeepModem Mom]

NYT: Nobody Knows the Lynchings He’s Seen
By FRANK RICH
Published: October 7, 2007



WHAT'S the difference between a low-tech lynching and a high-tech lynching? A high-tech lynching brings a tenured job on the Supreme Court and a $1.5 million book deal. A low-tech lynching, not so much.

Pity Clarence Thomas. Done in by what he calls "left-wing zealots draped in flowing sanctimony" — as he describes anyone who challenged his elevation to the court — he still claims to have suffered as much as African-Americans once victimized by "bigots in white robes." Since kicking off his book tour on "60 Minutes" last Sunday, he has been whining all the way to the bank, often abetted by a press claque as fawning as his No. 1 fan, Rush Limbaugh.

We are always at a crossroads with race in America, and so here we are again. The rollout of Justice Thomas's memoir, "My Grandfather's Son," is not happening in a vacuum. It follows a Supreme Court decision (which he abetted) outlawing voluntary school desegregation plans in two American cities. It follows yet another vote by the Senate to deny true Congressional representation to the majority black District of Columbia. It follows the decision by the leading Republican presidential candidates to snub a debate at a historically black college as well as the re-emergence of a low-tech lynching noose in Jena, La.

Perhaps most significant of all, Mr. Thomas's woe-is-me tour unfolds against the backdrop of the presidential campaign of an African-American whose political lexicon does not include martyrdom or rage. "My Grandfather's Son" may consciously or not echo the title of Barack Obama's memoir of genealogy and race, "Dreams From My Father," but it might as well be written in another tongue.

It's useful to watch Mr. Thomas at this moment, 16 years after his riveting confirmation circus. He is a barometer of what has and has not changed since then because he hasn't changed at all. He still preaches against black self-pity even as he hyperbolically tries to cast his Senate cross-examination by Joe Biden as tantamount to the Ku Klux Klan assassination of Medgar Evers. He still denies that he is the beneficiary of the very race-based preferences he deplores. He still has a dubious relationship with the whole truth and nothing but, and not merely in the matter of Anita Hill....

http://www.nytimes.com/2007/10/07/opinion/07rich.html?hp

[Mz Pip]

1. HIs anger

and contempt are so misdirected.

It's not his race liberals are taking issue with. We don't care much for Scalia, either.

Mz Pip
:dem:

[journalist3072]

2. I am ashamed to say I was a Thomas supporter during his confirmation hearings

I remember very vividly being a Freshman in college during Clarence Thomas' confirmation hearings.

Politically, I was naive and wet behind the ears then. All I saw was a Black man trying to get on the Supreme Court, and I supported him.

When I looked at Anita Hill, I just thought 'how can this Black women bring this Black man down?'

I remember watching the Senate vote that confirmed Thomas, and I stood up and clapped.

I want to thank Clarence Thomas for teaching me a valuable lesson. He taught me that just because someone looks like me, doesn't mean they share my interests or values.

[DeepModem Mom]

3. Thanks for your post, journalist, and for sharing a lesson of value for anyone. nt

[alcibiades_mystery]

7. I was a freshman in college, too

I wasn't particularly into politics at the time, but I remember watching and thinking "This guy definitely did all this." I thought "Women make shit up, but not like this." I totally believed Anita Hill, though in a strange "I've seen it all" jadedness sort of way. When Thomas was confirmed I was like "Eh, whatever."

[charlie]

4. Oh GEEZUS, how far right will he go now?

I've yet to see a review of his book that wasn't soaked in contemptuous mirth. Since it's clear Ol' Clarence is primarily driven by the storms of his wounded psyche, I expect he'll soon be issuing decisions from some bizarre outland where even rightwingers fear to tread. We've got a runaway psycho on the bench and there isn't much we can do but grab our shorts and hold on for the ride.

[DeepModem Mom]

6. Frightening, but well said, charlie! nt

[killbotfactory]

5. Can we impeach this idiot?

[opihimoimoi]

8. We should find a way...Thomas is a useless POS on the court...he hardly works, mostly silent

A tragic waste of money to pay for his salary.....The Pubs did us bad....

[Toots]

13. Well he certainly made a strong point of his Bias against Liberals/Democrats

It is now a fact that a Liberal or a Liberal cause has no chance at all with him. I thought a Justice, especially a Supreme Court Justice was supposed to maintain an aura of impartiality. Thomas makes no bones about his hatred for Liberals/Democrats and their causes..IOW a little more than half of America..

[tomreedtoon]

9. Aren't you supposed to sell your soul at the "crossroads"?

And after you do so, you're able to play the blues beautifully, but you will never know love and you know you're going to Hell after you die, no matter what you do? Is that the "crossroads with race" the guy is talking about?

That would explain why Thomas is so grouchy.

[Jade Fox]

10. Rich makes a good point here...

Pat Buchanan, said on "Meet the Press" last weekend that it was no big deal for Republican candidates to skip a debate before an African-American audience because blacks make up only about 10 percent of the voting public and Republicans only get about a tenth of that anyway. It didn't occur to Mr. Buchanan that in 21st-century America many white voters are also offended by politicians who snub black Americans — whether at a campaign debate or in the rubble of Hurricane Katrina.

[DeepModem Mom]

11. I agree. We are in a dark and dangerous time as a nation, but underneath...

there is change going on, some of it generational.

[muffin1]

12. Beautifully said

:applause: