So, um, could you apologize to my husband for something from 20 years ago? No reason.

Forums: Politics, Supreme Court, Scotus, Anita Hill, Clarence Thomas
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Virginia Thomas (Clarence's wife) suddenly wants Anita Hill to apologize. 20 years after the confirmation hearings during which we were treated to a he said/she said show about porn stars and, er, certain ways to enjoy Coca-Cola.

Whaddaya make of this? And what's the timing?

I don't normally get involved in these discussions, and I have no agenda here, except that I think it's weird. Plus it makes me wonder if something is about to come out, or if there is a book on the horizon or someone waiting in the wings to reveal, uh, something.

Your calm, reasoned (okay, at least not inflammatory, s'il vous plait) thoughts?

http://www.nytimes.com/2010/10/20/us/politics/20thomas.html?_r=1&th&emc=th

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@jespah,

I think Virginia Thomas is suddenly in denial of probably another crisis that Justice Thomas might have found himself in. Perhaps she's trying to pull off some kind of proactive/preventative damage control of a future undisclosed incident but possibly dampening the Anita Hill scandal of the past.

The timing makes no sense.

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She says she wants to "extend an olive branch", but you don't ask for an apology when you do that, so I think the motive is publicity whoring.

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@Green Witch,

She wants an apology, Oprah is starting a new network. COINCIDENCE?
I think not.

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I was really surprised by this as well. Any publicity this generates will be bad for the Thomas's. If Ms. Hill responds at all, it will be to say she is the victim and how typical to ask the victim of harassment to accept the blame for it. The press will dig up all the original allegations and spread them around for a new generation to read about. I wonder if this has been eating at her for two decades and it finally boiled over.

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@engineer,

Anita Hill has already replied "no". Mrs. Thomas runs a conservative organization that I think she is trying to drum up PR and donationa for and what better way to do it than a stunt like this.

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A nutty phone call like that? At 7:30am? I can see where Prof. Hill would be leery. I'd guess Mrs. Thomas is up to something and we'll just have to wait for the other shoe to drop.

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@Green Witch,

I think it's a publicity stunt too.

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Here's your other dropping shoe:

http://www.bigwowo.com/2010/10/clarence-thomass-conservative-activist-wife/
via a link to the NYTimes:

Quote:

Mrs. Thomas is the founder and head of a new nonprofit group, Liberty Central, dedicated to opposing what she characterizes as the leftist “tyranny” of President Obama and Democrats in Congress and to “protecting the core founding principles” of the nation.

It is the most partisan role ever for a spouse of a justice on the nation’s highest court, and Mrs. Thomas is just getting started. “Liberty Central will be bigger than the Tea Party movement,” she told Fox News in April, at a Tea Party rally in Atlanta.

She's a big ol' political whore who will do anything for fist full of dollars.

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Mrs. Thomas is getting publicity for her new business. The NYT and news channels are giving her what she wanted from the call, which is not an apology from Anita.

Or, he is sick and Mrs. Thomas is trying to reconcile her husbands reputation before he has to step down from the bench or dies.

Most likely the first scenario, but wouldn't rule out the second.

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@JPB,

But it's a bad political stunt. I can't see some conservative out there getting all bent out of shape and deciding to send money because of some twenty year old allegation that Anita Hill is not bringing back up. I like the story (from Ms. Hill) that Ms. Thomas believed that Ms. Hill was romantically attracted to her husband and made the allegations because of spurned romantic overtures instead of workplace harassment. If that's true, she's been chewing that bone a long time. The voice mail seems to point that way. She wants "the truth" about why she made those allegations.

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Quote:

Or, he is sick and Mrs. Thomas is trying to reconcile her husbands reputation before he has to step down from the bench or dies.

America should be so lucky, but I doubt it.

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"new" coke= apologize
Diet coke= apologize
classic coke= **** you

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When the revolution comes, Clarence "Uncle Tom" Thomas won't be watchin' no porno . . .

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@jespah,

I wonder if Virginia Thomas plans to run for an office in 2012?

BBB

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What better way to get some publicity - whether (Thomas) is drumming up support for her new political movement OR she wants to rub her husband's face in the dirt again, knowing full well that Hill's story was true.

Very curious . . .

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@squinney,

Funny that second item - the first thing that popped into my head when I heard about this request for an apology was - did he die?

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I do not agree with Clarence Thomas very often. I remember thinking that Anita Hill's conflict with Thomas was also based on judicial philosophy rather than actual sexual harrassment. Does anyone remember the long list of inconsistencies in her harrassment testimony pointed out by one of the senators on the judiciary committee?

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@Green Witch,

Quote:

Mrs. Thomas is the founder and head of a new nonprofit group, Liberty Central, dedicated to opposing what she characterizes as the leftist “tyranny” of President Obama and Democrats in Congress and to “protecting the core founding principles” of the nation.

That oughta put that uppity woman and her uppity husband in their place.

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So, um, could you apologize to my husband for something from 20 years ago? No reason.

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