Justice Denial … er, Denies

Clarence Thomas and his Nebraska wife

The latest abomination from the Alter Boys showed up via one of the last remaining competent journalists working for Sam Zell’s Los Angeles Times:

Justice’s wife launches ‘tea party’ group

The nonprofit run by Virginia Thomas, wife of Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas, is likely to test notions of political impartiality for the court.

By Kathleen Hennessey
March 14, 2010

As Virginia Thomas tells it in her soft-spoken, Midwestern cadence, the story of her involvement in the “tea party” movement is the tale of an average citizen in action.

“I am an ordinary citizen from Omaha, Neb., who just may have the chance to preserve liberty along with you and other people like you,” she said at a recent panel discussion with tea party leaders in Washington. Thomas went on to count herself among those energized into action by President Obama’s “hard-left agenda.”

But Thomas is no ordinary activist.

She is the wife of Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas, and she has launched a tea-party-linked group that could test the traditional notions of political impartiality for the court….

Yeah, some “ordinary citizen”:

In 1987, Thomas married Virginia Lamp, a lobbyist, aide to Congressman Dick Armey, and subsequently an executive director at the conservative Heritage Foundation…

Thomas is one of thirteen Catholic justices—out of 110 justices total—in the history of the Supreme Court, and one of six currently on the Court.

In 1994, Thomas performed the wedding ceremony for radio host Rush Limbaugh and his wife, Marta Fitzgerald

Limpbaugh

And [Wikipedia]:

In 1994, Thomas worked for Representative Dick Armey, as a policy analyst. Conflict of interest issues were also raised in 2000, when Thomas worked for the Heritage Foundation, collecting résumés for potential presidential appointments in the George W. Bush Administration. Thomas later served as White House liaison to the Heritage Foundation.

In January 2010, Virginia Thomas started a nonprofit tea-party affilliated lobbying group to organize conservative activism, issue score cards for Congress members, and be involved elections.

Virginia Thomas has been a prominent critic of the controversial self awareness group called Lifespring. Mrs. Thomas asserted in an interview with The Washington Post that she had to seek counseling after her decision to break away from Lifespring. She had first taken the Lifespring training while working as a congressional aide.

Thomas left Lifespring in 1985, and joined the Cult Awareness Network*.

[*Note: the Cult Awareness Network was taken over by the "Church" of Scientology in 1996.]

She ultimately had to hide in another part of the country in order to avoid a constant barrage of phone calls from Lifespring members, urging her to remain in the organization. Thomas has spoken on panels and organized anti-cult workshops for congressional staffers in 1986 and 1988. In a 1991 interview, Thomas commented on Lifespring, stating “they are pretty scary people.” She also asserted: “I was once in a group that used mind control techniques.**

[** Note: from the context, one cannot be sure whether she is referring to Lifesping, Scientology or the GOP.]

Naturally, the gibbering chimpanzees of the Reicht Ving launched into a snarky, non sequitur, hebephrenic schoolyard attack:

The Legacy Media’s War on Conservatives — By: Andy McCarthy —  So let me make sure I have this straight.  If you’re a “progressive” lawyer who volunteers to represent America’s enemies for free in offensive lawsuits brought against the American people during wartime, and then you are placed …

Discussion:

Ed Morrissey / Hot Air:   LA Times suddenly wary of judicial activism and spouses

Rational Nation USA / Left Coast Rebel:   The Amazing Hypocrisy Of The Left

Steve M. / No More Mister Nice Blog:   A TEST: HOW NEUTERED ARE THE DEMOCRATS?

The Lonely Conservative: Oh the Scandal! Justice Thomas’s Wife is a Conservative!

Quin Hillyer / AmSpecBlog:   Declare War on the Establishment Media

Ed Driscoll / Pajamas Media: The Legacy Media’s War On Conservatives

And THESE braying jackasses are the ones trying to explain to us what the “rule of law” is? And why our courts are too weak to try terrorists (not suspects, terrorists)? And why dimbulb ‘Justice’ Roberts was right to take high offense at being criticized for handing down the worst decision in SCOTUS history since Dred Scott, or Plessy v. Ferguson?

The jackass who wrote the Dred Scott decision,
and, arguably, precipitated the Civil War.

Kill the messenger! Uh. This seems to be typical GOP behavior going back a century and more. Here’s what Edmund G. Ross of Kansas wrote in 1896, of the atmosphere surrounding his vote (that ended his senate career) in 1868 in the impeachment of Andrew Johnson:

The party cry was “Crucify him!” “Convict him anyway,
and try him afterwards!” With rare exceptions, the
Republican Party of the country, press and people,
were a unit in this insensate cry.

Kill the messenger! Belittle and destroy the message with snark, because, you know, Clarence Thomas is SUCH an upstanding disaster … er, I mean tool … er, I mean associate “justice” of the Supreme Court.

“I was chosen for my skin color as part of the ongoing
Bush family minstrel show of fake diversity …. “

Sadly, the refusal of recusal by the “Alter Boys” of SCOTUS is well-documented, as Scalia’s son worked as a lawyer on the Bush campaign and Thomas’ wife was vetting Bush appointees while Bush v. Gore was going on: something that NO lower court judge would be allowed. The track record of the Alter Boys in ignoring recusal standards that ANY lower court would be held to is also well-documented, as in Scalia going hunting and fishing with Bushies who were parties to cases before the court.

Antonin Scalia: practicing to bunk with
Rehnquist and Roger Taney in Hell…

No lower court judge could get away with THAT one for a nanosecond. It has been a flagrant abuse of the loophole that SCOTUS members have no higher authority to answer to.

So, it is entirely reasonable to question the propriety of Clarence “Boy Am I Unqualified” Thomas, given his past track record. The court of public opinion is the ONLY recourse, note.

Bush, bishop, Roberts and their satanic clone bodyguards

And you can see that the Righties have their (tattered, unwashed) panties in a bunch by their use of the old chestnut of “well some LEFTIST did it” and “I know you are but what am I?” and the other Pee Wee Herman routines that pass for “debate” in fora that scream for Rush’s “free speech” but won’t allow any debate (like Rush) in their hollowed (sic) halls. Like NRO.

Take a look at the Memeorandum kerfuffle, and watch as a valid point is snarked to death by fug-ugly sleaze merchants like Ed Morrisey (now owned by Salem Broadcasting, Inc.) and K-Lo.

Ed Morrissey back when he had hair

Just remember: if their arguments had any actual merit, they’d make actual arguments instead of relying on the Pee Wee Herman playbook: “Well, Tommy did it, too!” and the false equivalence, and the “we’re victims! We’re victims of the liberal media!”

Two wrongs don’t make a right, which destroys fully half of the lame arguments being made to justify this monstrosity of decorum. (You know: that decorum that (in)Justice Roberts was in such high dudgeon about last week?).

“You just remember to overturn
Roe v. Wade because all us celibate
guys in dresses think you should …”

IOKIYAR may work for politicians, but is fatal to the life of a democracy when invoked for judges.

Even the Alter Boys.

Oh, and you wingnuts: just put a sock in it.

Courage.