I don't think Justice Thomas is doing himself any favors in these interviews he's doing, even when they are with Jan Crawford Greenburg who's about the most supportive audience and reporter he could find. He thinks that race is the reason people complained about him replacing Justice Marshall, and points to the fact that similar concerns weren't raised when Justice Ginsburg was appointed? Yeah Clarence, sure, that was the only reason people weren't up in arms about her nomination like they were about yours. Putting aside the Anita Hill issues, there's the fact that many (reasonably) thought you were far from the best qualified nominee for your job. You were barely 40 and had been a judge for a year. Justice Ginsburg was 60 and had gained the respect of a wide spectrum of legal experts after a stellar career that included 13 years on what's often considered the 2nd highest court in the land.
And you obviously haven't taken Justice White's words (about forgetting how you got to the Court) to heart. I mean if you kept for years a list of the senators who voted against you ...
I really think he needs to stop holding these interviews. I don't know who he thinks they are helping.
Posted by armand at October 4, 2007 04:40 PM | TrackBack | Posted to Law and the CourtsDo you really think that race had nothing to do with it, across the board? I can't imagine that being the case. As political scientists we may (may) confine our criticisms to ideology, record, etc, but in the mass public? I wish the country were that enlightened.
Posted by: binky at October 4, 2007 05:02 PM | PERMALINKOf course race had something to do with it - I'd guess especially to those who were invested in the legacy of Justice Marshall. But to hold up his nomination and compare it to Ginsburg's and say he got attacked and she didn't primarily because of differences in their races - to me that's absurd.
And honestly, if he'd been white he would never gotten approved. I think the (several) studies done of that vote in the years after it happened were pretty clear cut - the Southern Democrats who voted to approve him did so because they were scared of pissing off their black constitutents. Though of course if he'd been white he likely would never have been nominated in the first place.
Posted by: Armand at October 4, 2007 09:50 PM | PERMALINK