More on the High Intellectual Seriousness of Mr. Justice Clarence Thomas
Earlier this week, our own Paul Rahe commented, astonished, on the Jeffrey Toobin profile of Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas in the current issue of The New Yorker. "Liberals are accustomed,"
Paul wrote, "...to treat...[Justice Thomas] as nothing more than a safe vote for whatever Justice Antonin Scalia has in mind. It will be very hard for them to digest and come to grips with what Toobin has to say, and it is no less remarkable that a hardcore left-liberal such as Toobin is willing to say it."
Today, Michael Barone writes with similiar astonishment in the Washington Examiner:
The bulk of the article is worthy of attention because Toobin, despite his obvious distaste for Thomas' views, takes him seriously as a judicial thinker and pathfinder.
"In several of the most important areas of constitutional law, Thomas has emerged as an intellectual leader of the Supreme Court," Toobin writes. "Rarely has a Supreme Court Justice enjoyed such broad or significant vindication."...
Thomas's leadership on the Second Amendment reflects his frequent forays into history. Many of his opinions track the development of the law from the 18th or even 17th century, and in many such cases all or almost all his colleagues concur.
In addition, as Toobin accurately reports, Thomas is the strongest originalist on the court, the justice who most consistently seeks to apply the provisions of the Constitution as they were originally understood....
Then Michael throws a punch of his own:
Congress has never before passed and the Supreme Court has never upheld a law requiring individuals to buy a commercial product, as Obamacare does. On this the Obama Democrats, not Clarence Thomas and judges following his lead, are the ones sweeping aside precedent.
Wonderful, no? Mr. Justice Thomas knows his Constitution, is utterly earnest about upholding it in a manner that even liberals, albeit grudgingly, have now begun to admit demonstrates rigor and consistency--and has spent more than two decades now meticulously preparing the ground on which he and his fellow originalists can stand in declaring ObamaCare null and void.
I know. We mustn't get our hopes up. Justices Kagan and Sotomayor and Breyer still sit on the high bench. But at the very minimum, let's pause to admire the extended act of patriotism and integrity--of intellectual heroism--that Mr. Justice Clarence Thomas has displayed.
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Mar '11
Re: More on the High Intellectual Seriousness of Mr. Justice Clarence Thomas
I've always wondered why the oath of office for a judge requires that he/she uphold the Constitution, while most confirmation hearings revolve almost exclusively around adherence to stare decisis. Of course, if precedent stood for nothing, a person could get through law school in one year.
Edited on Aug 31, 2011 at 8:37amJun '11
Re: More on the High Intellectual Seriousness of Mr. Justice Clarence Thomas
Jeffrey Toobin is sending a message to all liberal media attack voices to step up the smear campaign on Justice Thomas and his wife. Setting the troops straight that it may be imperative for Justice Thomas to be damaged or removed somehow in the coming Supreme Court fight over Obamacare.
Feb '11
Re: More on the High Intellectual Seriousness of Mr. Justice Clarence Thomas
I've long thought that Justice Thomas has been unfairly criticized and mocked. What I like most about his jurisprudence is does not treat the Supreme Court as an oracle. His originalism is premised on governing with the consent of the people, which implies that most people should be able to understand what the Constitution means and what powers have been granted and limits imposed on the federal government. So he is more apt than any justice, including Scalia, to accept words at their face value in the context of the time in which they were written. Critics view this as simplistic and anti-intellectual--but it reflects a profound humility that should be shared by other members of the government.
Re: More on the High Intellectual Seriousness of Mr. Justice Clarence Thomas
Terrell David: Jeffrey Toobin is sending a message to all liberal media attack voices to step up the smear campaign on Justice Thomas and his wife.
That was exactly my reaction.
Edited on Aug 31, 2011 at 12:04pmMar '11
Re: More on the High Intellectual Seriousness of Mr. Justice Clarence Thomas
I have met and talked with Mr. Justice Antonin Scalia, and have a great deal of respect for him. Some of his opinions are, to put it respectfully, not consistent with what I think (been a lawyer for 25-plus years). Mr. Justice Thomas, on the other hand, has never written an opinion that seemed flawed to me. His prose is more straightforward and his analyses less nuanced than Scalia's, but his intellect and clear vision are apparent in all that he does. He is probably one of the few men in public life I actually revere - a legal giant who, because he is a conservative, is vilified by the ankle-biting media. Want to meet a great American? See Mr. Justice Thomas.
Sep '10
Re: More on the High Intellectual Seriousness of Mr. Justice Clarence Thomas
We certainly have a great task ahead of us to ensure Justice Thomas is properly appreciated by future generations for his contributions. The contrast between he and the exceptionally malleable Justice Kennedy (who remains Obamacare's last and best hope for survival) could not be more stark, to say nothing of the likes of Sotomayor or Kagan.
Dec '10
Re: More on the High Intellectual Seriousness of Mr. Justice Clarence Thomas
Terrell David and Adam Freedman.
Yep. Toobin is never gracious, nor even neutral. This is the first volley of an attack. It is unwise to ascribe normal motivations to somebody that is so vehemently partisan.
Sep '10
Re: More on the High Intellectual Seriousness of Mr. Justice Clarence Thomas
The Left is always ready to lecture you on prejudice, but is there anything they hate more than a pro-life woman or an anti-affirmative action black man?
Jun '11
Re: More on the High Intellectual Seriousness of Mr. Justice Clarence Thomas
Did anyone read what Walter Russell Mead wrote over at his blog? Here is the prescient part:
Edited on Aug 31, 2011 at 9:22pm"If Toobin’s revionist (sic) take is correct, (and I defer to his knowledge of the direction of modern constitutional thought) it means that liberal America has spent a generation mocking a Black man as an ignorant fool, even as constitutional scholars stand in growing amazement at the intellectual audacity, philosophical coherence and historical reflection embedded in his judicial work."
And Professor Mead is exactly correct. They have mocked him. Nevermind that Justice Thomas (correctly) views oral arguments as legal theatre and a forum for judicial grandstanding, or that he spends his time off traveling the country meeting real Americans (something that Peter Robinson regularly points out Reagan loved to do). But most importantly, he is an exceptionally accomplished individual, a black man who grew up in the pre-civil rights Georgia, in a house with a dirt floor and no plumbing in a family who spoke Gullah, and they mock him. Disgusting.
Aug '10
Re: More on the High Intellectual Seriousness of Mr. Justice Clarence Thomas
God bless Justice Thomas. His book was so poignant ( h/t to Teachout) and his mentors the best, you can see that Jack Danforth has pretty good motives.
Anything in the New Yorker these days can be seen as a manifesto for the left. Too bad, what a great old mag it was..........