As you may have heard, on Saturday, Clarence Thomas defended his wife before an audience of conservative law students at the University of Virginia during an event sponsored by the Federalist Society.
Thomas said that his wife had come under attack because of her involvement in tea party activism. After introducing her to the audience, Thomas said the alleged criticism of his wife's activities proves that "there is a price to pay today for standing in defense of your Constitution." He went on to say that both he and his wife "believe the same things" and that they would not back down from their "defense of liberty" because America is at risk of losing its greatness.
As a general rule, it's hard not to have sympathy for somebody defending their spouse, but the thing that Clarence Thomas conveniently ignored is that he's the issue—not his wife. She isn't the one who failed to disclose her income on the legally required disclosure forms for the past 13 years—he is. His wife isn't the one who has offered conflicting stories about taking a junket to a Koch-sponsored symposium just before opening the floodgates to corporate cash in Citizens United—he is.
Put bluntly: Virginia Thomas isn't the Supreme Court Justice with an ethical cloud over her head. Clarence Thomas is. And spending his time defending his wife won't do anything to change that. The questions that need to be answered are about him. Not her.
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