When speaking at the Old Parkland Conference in Dallas, Texas, last Friday, Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas elicited laughs from the audience when he commented on how those in the media do their job.
Just before his comment, Justice Thomas was asked about a statement made by then-Missouri GOP Senator John Danforth, who said of the way Thomas was treated at his nomination for the Court: “If we ever get a chance to do to that side what they have done to us we should never do it.”
Thomas quipped: “And we have never done it!”
Distinguishing how conservatives and progressives treat Supreme Court nominees and justices, Thomas added: “You would never visit Supreme Court justices’ houses when things didn’t go [y]our way; you wouldn’t throw temper tantrums.”
Thomas continued:
“It is incumbent on us to always act appropriately and not to repay tit-for-tat,” he contended. “And I have to thank all the people, the regular people … the regular people showed up. It was always us against the elites. And that’s the way it has been for the last 40-plus years I’ve been in public life: us against the elites.”
Thomas affirmed that he is a person of principle and is not influenced by politics or personalities, saying:
“And one of the things you will see in my opinions is I never go after anybody personally. There’s nothing insulting in there; it goes after the argument. But you’re right: we are to conduct ourselves better than they conduct themselves.”
Thomas concluded by calling out the media:
“One of the things I say in response to the media is when they talk about, especially early on, is about the way I did my job. I said, ‘” I will absolutely leave the Court when I do my job as poorly as you do yours.’”
“And that was meant as a compliment, really. It really is good to be me; it really is,” Thomas said with a smile.
The Daily Wire noted several recent examples of the media attacking Thomas. These included:
The New York Times writing that he and other conservative Supreme Court Justices have been “whining about public outrage at their rulings.”
The New York Magazine asserting that Thomas “was credibly accused of sexual harassment by former colleague Anita Hill during his Supreme Court confirmation hearings in 1991.”
The Washington Post claiming that Thomas was “the Black Justice whose rulings often resemble the thinking of white conservatives.”
Danforth, a friend and supporter of Thomas, particularly during his confirmation process, recalled that Thomas was “terribly upset” about the vicious attacks leveled at him and indicated that the justice wants to see a more united and civilized America in the future.
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