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| Virginia Thomas |
I am so enjoying what must be at least a small uncomfortable moment for Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas. Possibly even an intensely uncomfortable time, but he still keeps his job for life so what the hell. It is Clarence Thomas’s job for life to make me deeply unhappy. Even without careful research, I am fairly certain Thomas has never written nor voted for a single Supreme Court decision that I would support (BUSH v GORE and CITIZENS UNITED V FEDERAL ELECTION COMMISSION being two of the most egregious).
Thomas’s Supreme Court confirmation hearings in the Senate were almost as popular as the O.J. trial. I can’t remember now why I didn’t watch, but from the recounting below, it’s clear Thomas dodged a very large caliber bullet.
It's been 20 years since Anita Hill exposed Clarence Thomas as a sexual harasser during his Supreme Court confirmation hearings. Professor Hill described how the now Supreme Court justice subjected her to descriptions of pornography he had watched, and bragged about his own sexual prowess in graphic terms. On the very day of his swearing in, the Washington Post had amassed damning evidence that corroborated Hill's testimony, including eyewitness accounts about Thomas' porn consumption from the manager of his local video store. Jeffrey Toobin reported that the Washington Post decided to drop the story since Thomas had already been sworn in to the court.
I have to ask myself if I would still want Justice Ruth Ginsburg on the Court in the face of irrefutable evidence that she is obsessed with pornography. Yes, I’d overlook it. So I can understand why the right wing would stand by their man, family values notwithstanding, but it does bring a certain amount of satisfaction that this sordid business has been resurrected. By Virginia Thomas, his wife.
Thomas’s wife, then and still, is alleged to be a very savvy political operator, a well-known Tea Party activist. I have to marvel that she woke up one morning a week or so ago and decided to leave a voice mail message for Anita Hill, asking Ms. Hill to apologize to Clarence Thomas.
If this was a brilliant political strategy move, it must be deceptively clever. Fortunately for Virginia, she was on a very fast news cycle with elections looming. Unfortunately for Virginia, Thomas’s former girlfriend decided to jump on the news cycle too.
The Associated Press relays the transcript of that message.
In a transcript of the message provided by ABC News, which said it listened to the recording, Thomas identified herself and then said, "I just wanted to reach across the airwaves and the years and ask you to consider something. I would love you to consider an apology sometime and some full explanation of why you did what you did with my husband. So give it some thought and certainly pray about this and come to understand why you did what you did. OK, have a good day," Thomas said.
If this was a brilliant political strategy move, it must be deceptively clever. Fortunately for Virginia, she was on a very fast news cycle with elections looming. Unfortunately for Virginia, Thomas’s former girlfriend decided to jump on the news cycle too.
Just days after the wife of Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas left a surprise voice mail message for Anita Hill, Mr. Thomas’s former girlfriend is speaking out. In an article in The Washington Post, Lillian McEwen says that Mr. Thomas was “obsessed with porn” and frequently commented on the looks of other women while the two dated more than two decades ago.
“He was obsessed with porn,” Ms. McEwen told Post reporter Michael Fletcher. “He would talk about what he had seen in magazines and films, if there was something worth noting.”
Sounds like something from Desperate Housewives of Washington D.C. Maybe Clarence Thomas is making Virginia Thomas deeply unhappy as well.
Postscript:
Virginia "Ginni" Thomas, the wife of Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas, says the call she placed to Anita Hill in October "was probably a mistake on my part."
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