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In a newly released book about his life, archconservative Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas seems confused as to why he was selected to serve on the court.
Isn’t that precious?
It is the justice’s willful performance of ignorance that appeals to conservatives.
Thomas, according to an excerpt reported by Business Insider, is quoted as saying, “I have no idea why or how I got nominated. All I know is that Justice Marshall retired, and that was a shock.”
“My reaction was, ‘Oh no, this is going to be bad," he said. "People will go on a rumor that I’m one of the nominees."
If only I could speak to Thomas then. I’d tell him 1) you have far worse allegations to worry about, and 2) the reason you’re being chosen is because you’re a bigoted mascot for a white nationalist party.
If that sounds harsh to you, know this: The idea isn’t novel. In fact, there were reports at the time about the pressure on then-President George H.W. Bush to name a Black, right-wing justice to replace liberal Justice Thurgood Marshall, the first Black person to sit on the court.
Thomas was on the top of that list.
Once Thomas was seated and showed conservatives he would eagerly defend their wishes, the right’s praise for him became all the more cringeworthy. And you don’t have to take my word for it.
Just read a few lines from this poem about Thomas, written by the late far-right activist Phyllis Schlafly:
No High Court Justice shows such promise
As our favorite, Clarence Thomas.
You’re a jurist for the ages
Who sends liberals into rages.
With your mighty brain and quill,
You cramp the style of Hillary and Bill.
We’re thrilled you’ve stopped the Left’s destruction
To be a voice for strict construction.
With courageous resolution
You stick to the text of our Constitution.
We’re glad you’ve started to slap the paws
Of liberals misusing the Commerce Clause.
Justice Thomas, please don’t relent
In seeking out original intent.
As we watch you face the strife,
We thank God you’re there for life.
Them lyrics ain’t hitting like Phyllis thought they were. But they go to show the sheer joy Thomas brings conservatives.
“I don’t know why I was chosen,” said Thomas. How laughable! The answer is in the question, Clarence.
It is the justice’s willful performance of ignorance that appeals to conservatives. His eagerness to find the humane, democratic answer to any given problem and do the opposite in the cruelest fashion possible. That was the case, for example, when he voted to overturn Roe v. Wade last week and said the cases affirming rights to contraception, nonheterosexual marriage, and nonheterosexual relationships should be reconsidered.
There is the justice’s answer. He is a prop — a tool of a racist and misogynist movement, which is overjoyed by the optics of a seething, mostly silent Black man acting as a rubber stamp for all their cruel proposals.