Joy Pullmann of the Federalist pushes back against a condescending characterization of the long-serving U.S. Supreme Court justice.
Ever since he matured from Marxist revolutionary to conservative heavyweight champ, the American left has felt free to smear Clarence Thomas in ways they’d scream “racism!” at if he were still one of them. It’s a half-century reminder of which political team consistently weaponizes a twisted conception of racism to obtain power at any cost, instead of recognizing racism as a moral evil with objective standards of transgression that apply equally to all.
In this reprehensible tradition, The New York Times published an article on May 18 titled, “Passed By for Decades, Clarence Thomas Is a New Symbol of the Trump Era.” The subtitle reads: “He isn’t yet the pop culture star that Ruth Bader Ginsburg — ‘Notorious R.B.G.’ to many — is. But his fans think he could be.”
The article was prompted by a documentary condensed from 30 hours of unpredecented interviews with Thomas, and his deep influence on the legal system through former clerks appointed to influential positions and his years of applying the Constitution on the bench. …
… Thomas has provided a substantive legal philosophy with which to deconstruct a century of garbage leftist legal decisions like Roe v. Wade. This frightens the left because their most significant legal decisions are weaker, built out of thin air and imposed on the country without its consent. Thomas’s work threatens theirs, and thus he must be destroyed by any means possible.
Naturally, the Times writer thus tries to politicize Thomas’s work by associating him with President Trump and the “fringes” of the political right. …
… Let’s get something straight: Thomas was the epitome of American success long before Trump came along. God willing, he will be long after Trump is gone. …
… Thomas was a voice for legal restraint and adherence to the Constitution long before that became hip on the right.
