Rebecca TushnetMay 5, 2023
My own theory about Clarence Thomas is that, obviously, he initially got the money because of ideological compatibility. He wasn't bribed to hold those views; he was induced to *keep* those views. The function of the money and luxury vacations is to prevent evolution of his judging; we do have many historical examples of Justices who've evolved as they've seen different things. But that won't happen if the money and luxury spigot is flowing this way.
Show threadKim Scheinberg

@rtushnet
I think Crow enjoys ownership, particularly of people and their legacies.

I'm skeptical that anyone worries about Thomas evolving. Everything I need to know about him is in this quote from 30 years ago

"The liberals made my life miserable for 43 years," a former clerk remembered Thomas – who was 43 years old when confirmed – saying, according to The New York Times. "And I'm going to make their lives miserable for 43 years."

Guys like him never let go of a grudge.

May 5, 2023 at 2:57pmWeb
Show threadPaul CantrellMay 5, 2023

@kims @rtushnet
Agreed, it’s certainly reasonable to speculate that he wouldn’t have evolved very far. I do think Rebecca’s point stands, for exactly the reason Kim states in her first sentence: there’s a difference between Crow fully expecting Thomas to stay bitter forever and Crow feeling like he •owns• Thomas.

When the latter is present, there simply can be no trust in Thomas’s judicial integrity, regardless of his actual beliefs and how they might hypothetically have evolved.