Justice Thomas Speaks Out

You may have seen CBS's Steve Kroft interview Justice Clarence Thomas on "60 minutes" Sunday, or heard him on Rush Limbaugh Monday, or read the multi-part series on Justice Thomas written by ABC News's Jan Crawford Greenberg, or run across any of a ton of stories which grow out of what is apparently a remarkable new memoir, "My Grandfather's Son."

I had been at National Right to Life for just a few years when President George H.W. Bush  nominated Thomas--then on the court of appeals for the DC Circuit--to replace Thurgood Marshall, the first African American to sit on the nation's highest court. We hear a lot today about how divisive and cranky political discussion has become in the nation's capital. But this can not hold a candle to the ugliest displace of vituperative partisanship I've ever seen--the media circus that erupted when the full Senate considered Thomas's nomination in 1991.

As I remember so vividly, my whole family was in the car driving to a state right to life convention meeting when Thomas had had enough. After enduring a gutter-level attack, led, of course, by Sen. Kennedy, Thomas erupted in righteous anger.

As we weaved in and out of mountains, Thomas's remarks were sometimes clear, sometimes barely discernible. But what you couldn't miss, what I remember to this day, is a man who refused to sit idly by and endure what he memorably described as a "high-tech lynching for uppity blacks."

He was battling for his reputation, for his honor, and for the grandfather who was the single most important figure in his life.

I have not read the book. I will. What stands out early is the extend to which Thomas (unmercifully hammered for his verbal restraint on the bench and reluctance to talk to the media) has undertaken a full-blown media campaign to tell his side of the story--to correct the distortions and simplifications made about a very, very complex man.

Thomas talks to Kroft about abortion (the "elephant in the room" during his confirmation hearings). His answer is thoughtful, nuanced, and ends with the consideration that ought to rule for any justice: that the issue of abortion is not in the Constitution and that it should be left up to the states to decide.

"The point is simply this," he tells Kroft. "The Constitution is what matters. Not my personal views, whatever they may be. And I don't go around expressing them on that issue."

You can watch the "60 Minutes" interview at http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2007/09/27/60minutes/main3305443.shtml.

You can read Greenberg's fascinating profile at http://abcnews.go.com/TheLaw/story?id=3668863&page=1

Please send your comments to daveandrusko@hotmail.com.