Clarence's continued court chaos

There are few individuals who have had more of a direct impact on imploding trust between the American people and the US Supreme Court than Clarence Thomas. His service has been a disgrace for more than 30 years. According to a September 2022 Gallup poll, less than half of respondents said they have “a great deal” or “a fair amount” of trust in the judicial branch of the federal government, headed by the US Supreme Court. This represents a stunning 20-percentage-point decline from two years ago, and is now the lowest in Gallup's trend by six points.

The revelations by ProPublica that Clarence Thomas has been the recipient of lavish gifts worth hundreds of thousands of dollars from a GOP/MAGA donor named Harlan Crowe is an ethical apocalypse.

Thomas has long portrayed himself as an all-American “everyman,” who takes pleasure in the simple things in life. In a recent interview for a documentary about his life, he tells tales about his modest habits, which include setting up camp in his used trailer in the Walmart parking lot where he can be with the regular people:

I don’t have any problem with going to Europe, but I prefer the United States, and I prefer seeing the regular parts of the United States. I prefer the RV parks. I prefer the Walmart parking lots to the beaches and things like that. There’s something normal to me about it. I come from regular stock, and I prefer that — I prefer being around that.

It seems though that while the camper was parked the justice was jaunting aboard a Bombardier Global Challenger en route to Mr. Crow’s many estates or super yacht. Island hopping in Indonesia was a mutually satisfying experience. The justice and the Mrs. got a free and undisclosed trip, while the MAGA megadonor got access to the US Supreme Court.

The sound that you hear is the sound of institutional integrity and trust exploding into thousands of tiny shards. Clarence Thomas has turned the court into an open air bazaar and annihilated its moral standing. It’s quite a gift for his election-denying and insurrection cheerleading extremist wife.

Last night, Judge Matthew J. Kacsmaryk of the United States District Court for the Northern District of Texas outlawed mifepristone, the FDA-approved abortion pill that has been safely sold for a quarter century under the 1873 Comstock Act. The decision was stayed by another Federal Court within hours. It is now heading to the Supreme Court where Justice Thomas, who lives comfortably in his feathered nest — bought and paid for by the extremist movement — will vote in favor of more restrictive laws for America’s women.

The American extremist cause is also deeply corrupt. Donald Trump’s corruption in the executive branch was without precedent as is that of Clarence Thomas. MAGA is a sewer. The American people should not tolerate this.

Have a listen for more of my thoughts on how Clarence Thomas and his wife Ginni have continued to cozy up to the MAGA movement, and why that undermines the American people’s trust in the court and other important institutions: