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These records pertain to Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas's nomination.
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286185931
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Talking Points
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id
286185931
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document
title
Talking Points
description
These records pertain to Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas's nomination.
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07361-019
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Records of the White House Office of Media Affairs (George H. W. Bush Administration)
Katherine Holt Files
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Originally Processed With FOIA(s):
FOIA Number:
1998-0207-F
1998-0207-F
FOIA
MARKER
This is not a textual record. This is used as an
administrative marker by the George Bush Presidential
Library Staff.
Record Group/Collection:
George H.W. Bush Presidential Records
Collection/Office of Origin:
Media Affairs, White House Office of
Series:
Holt, Katherine, Files
Subseries:
OA/ID Number:
07361
Folder ID Number:
07361-019
Folder Title:
Talking Points
Stack:
Row:
Section:
Shelf:
Position:
G
14
17
4
3
TALKING POINTS
SUPREME COURT NOMINATION OF JUDGE CLARENCE THOMAS
"Judge Thomas' life is a model for all Americans, and he's
earned the right to sit on this nation's highest court."
President Bush nominating Judge Thomas
July 1, 1991
Judge Thomas was nominated by the President to be a Supreme
Court Justice because of his fidelity to the Constitution
and the rule of law. These qualities, coupled with his
education and experience, will make him an exemplary Justice
of the Supreme Court.
As President Bush said, Judge Thomas "is a fiercely
independent thinker with an excellent legal mind, who
believes passionately in equal opportunity for all
Americans. He will approach the cases that come before the
Court with a commitment to deciding them fairly, as the
facts and the law require."
The U.S. Senate has already confirmed Judge Thomas four
separate times: as Assistant Secretary for Civil Rights at
the Department of Education in 1981, twice as Chairman of
the EEOC in 1982 and 1986, and most recently as U.S. Court
of Appeals Judge for the District of Columbia in 1990. He
graduated from Holy Cross College with honors in 1971 and
Yale Law School in 1974.
As Judge Thomas told the Senate Judiciary Committee: "The
reason I became a lawyer was to make sure that minorities,
individuals who did not have access to this society, gained
access. Now, I may differ with others as to how best to do
that, but the objective has always been to include those who
have been excluded."
He believes firmly in the rights of the individual: that
government's role is to protect the rights of the individual
without advancing the interests of any particular lobbying
group.
Thomas would bring to the Court a wealth of experience in
government.
He compiled an outstanding record at EEOC: while seeking
tougher penalties against discriminatory businesses, he
pushed for improved voting rights and a strong civil rights
agenda.
PAGE TWO
JUDGE THOMAS
TALKING POINTS
Senator John C. Danforth has called Judge Thomas
"conservative, but a compassionate kind of conservative, not
rigid or ideological in his views. His every motive is that
he empathizes with ordinary people, he's one of them."
R. Gaull Silberman, Vice Chairman of the EEOC when Thomas
was chairman, said, "This man made the EEOC. He built it
into a first-class law enforcement agency. We took three
times as many cases, got more relief for more people than
any other time in history."
According to Alan Keyes, President of Citizens Against
Government Waste, on the basis of Thomas' constitutional
philosophy and his character, "it would have been difficult
for Mr. Bush to find anyone more qualified than Judge
Thomas. Throughout his public career, he has displayed the
intellectual honesty, integrity and moral courage that are
crucial but all too rare ingredients of great public
service."
When Thomas was nominated to the court of appeals, Robert G.
Dowd, the Presiding Judge of the Missouri Court of Appeals,
wrote that "Mr. Thomas has an outstanding civil rights
record and has demonstrated leadership and excellence as
Chairman of the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission. He
added that he "sincerely believed that Mr. Thomas would
bring honor, excellence, and scholarship to the appellate
court."
The nomination is not dictated by Judge Thomas' race; it is
not dictated by his ideology; it is dictated by his first-
rate intellect, his varied legal experiences, his
outstanding character, and his commitment to the
Constitution and individual rights.
The President recently said that Judge Thomas "offers what I
think is a very stirring testament to what people can do
when they refuse to take no for an answer, when through
sheer determination they overcome the obstacles that others
have placed in their way."
TALKING POINTS
SUPREME COURT NOMINATION OF JUDGE CLARENCE THOMAS
"Judge Thomas' life is a model for all Americans, and he's
earned the right to sit on this nation's highest court."
President Bush nominating Judge Thomas
July 1, 1991
Judge Thomas was nominated by the President to be a Supreme
Court Justice because of his fidelity to the Constitution
and the rule of law. These qualities, coupled with his
education and experience, will make him an exemplary Justice
of the Supreme Court.
As President Bush said, Judge Thomas "is a fiercely
independent thinker with an excellent legal mind, who
believes passionately in equal opportunity for all
Americans. He will approach the cases that come before the
Court with a commitment to deciding them fairly, as the
facts and the law require."
The U.S. Senate has already confirmed Judge Thomas four
separate times: as Assistant Secretary for Civil Rights at
the Department of Education in 1981, twice as Chairman of
the EEOC in 1982 and 1986, and most recently as U.S. Court
of Appeals Judge for the District of Columbia in 1990. He
graduated from Holy Cross College with honors in 1971 and
Yale Law School in 1974.
As Judge Thomas told the Senate Judiciary Committee: "The
reason I became a lawyer was to make sure that minorities,
individuals who did not have access to this society, gained
access. Now, I may differ with others as to how best to do
that, but the objective has always been to include those who
have been excluded."
He believes firmly in the rights of the individual: that
government's role is to protect the rights of the individual
without advancing the interests of any particular lobbying
group.
Thomas would bring to the Court a wealth of experience in
government.
He compiled an outstanding record at EEOC: while seeking
tougher penalties against discriminatory businesses, he
pushed for improved voting rights and a strong civil rights
agenda.
PAGE TWO
JUDGE THOMAS
TALKING POINTS
Senator John C. Danforth has called Judge Thomas
"conservative, but a compassionate kind of conservative, not
rigid or ideological in his views. His every motive is that
he empathizes with ordinary people, he's one of them.'
R. Gaull Silberman, Vice Chairman of the EEOC when Thomas
was chairman, said, "This man made the EEOC. He built it
into a first-class law enforcement agency. We took three
times as many cases, got more relief for more people than
any other time in history."
According to Alan Keyes, President of Citizens Against
Government Waste, on the basis of Thomas' constitutional
philosophy and his character, "it would have been difficult
for Mr. Bush to find anyone more qualified than Judge
Thomas. Throughout his public career, he has displayed the
intellectual honesty, integrity and moral courage that are
crucial but all too rare ingredients of great public
service.'
When Thomas was nominated to the court of appeals, Robert G.
Dowd, the Presiding Judge of the Missouri Court of Appeals,
wrote that "Mr. Thomas has an outstanding civil rights
record and has demonstrated leadership and excellence as
Chairman of the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission. He
added that he "sincerely believed that Mr. Thomas would
bring honor, excellence, and scholarship to the appellate
court.
"
The nomination is not dictated by Judge Thomas' race; it is
not dictated by his ideology; it is dictated by his first-
rate intellect, his varied legal experiences, his
outstanding character, and his commitment to the
Constitution and individual rights.
The President recently said that Judge Thomas "offers what I
think is a very stirring testament to what people can do
when they refuse to take no for an answer, when through
sheer determination they overcome the obstacles that others
have placed in their way."