Back to Swearing-In of Clarence Thomas 10/18/91 [OA 8330] [4]

Ask the Scholar

Document scope · 1 page

doc

Scholar

Ask about this object, its catalog metadata, its source description, or the page inventory. For page-specific OCR and visual context, open one of the page chats.

Scholar Source Context

Document identity

localId

323153604

label

Swearing-In of Clarence Thomas 10/18/91 [OA 8330] [4]

core

doc

dtoType

document

citationUrl

https://catalog.archives.gov/id/323153604

pageCount

Source metadata

323153604

sourceUrl

https://catalog.archives.gov/id/323153604

contentType

document

title

Swearing-In of Clarence Thomas 10/18/91 [OA 8330] [4]

citationUrl

https://catalog.archives.gov/id/323153604

identifierLocal

13777-001

collections

Records of the White House Office of Speechwriting (George H. W. Bush Administration)

Speech Backup Chronological Files

iiifBase

https://s3.amazonaws.com/NARAprodstorage/lz/presidential-libraries/bush/gb-spe/speechwriting_backup_chron_579003/41-bpr-speech-backup-chron-13777-001_323153604.pdf

thumbnailUrl

https://s3.amazonaws.com/NARAprodstorage/lz/presidential-libraries/bush/gb-spe/speechwriting_backup_chron_579003/41-bpr-speech-backup-chron-13777-001_323153604.pdf

largeImageUrl

https://s3.amazonaws.com/NARAprodstorage/lz/presidential-libraries/bush/gb-spe/speechwriting_backup_chron_579003/41-bpr-speech-backup-chron-13777-001_323153604.pdf

imageCount

hasImages

yes

source

import

hasTranscription

Source extras

url

https://catalog.archives.gov/id/323153604

naId

323153604

levelOfDescription

fileUnit

recordType

description

ocrSource

nara-archive

Single page context

seq

pageIndex

type

document

url

https://s3.amazonaws.com/NARAprodstorage/lz/presidential-libraries/bush/gb-spe/speechwriting_backup_chron_579003/41-bpr-speech-backup-chron-13777-001_323153604.pdf

mediaId

9b41759cc4bc0550

ocrText

Originally Processed With FOIA(s): FOIA Number: S; 1998-0207-F S 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: Speechwriting, White House Office of Series: Speech File Backup Files Subseries: Chron File, 1989-1993 OA/ID Number: 13777 Folder ID Number: 13777-001 Folder Title: Swearing-In of Clarence Thomas 10/18/91 [OA 8330] [4] Stack: Row: Section: Shelf: Position: G 26 21 7 2 October 16, 1991 MEMORANDUM FOR TONY SNOW FROM: MICHELE NIX SUBJECT: CLARENCE THOMAS SWEARING-IN CEREMONY Here's some preliminary research for the Thomas swearing-in ceremony. I've included the following: Past swearing-in remarks for Souter, Kennedy, Scalia, and O'Connor Thomas's remarks yesterday after the confirmation vote Some NEXIS articles -- one has some color about Thomas that you might use if you want to refer to his upbringing A quote by Thomas that I jotted down while listening to the hearings this past weekend The nomination announcement remarks An article from Policy Review -- A June 1987 speech Thomas gave before The Heritage Foundation about the black conservative Supreme Court Nominations, 1789-1983 Name Nominated by Service John Jay Washington 1789-1795 John Rutledge Washington 1789-1791 William Cushing Washington 1789-1810 Robert H. Harrison Washington (D, 1790) James Wilson Washington 1789-1798 John Blair Washington 1789-1796 James Iredell Washington 1790-1799 Thomas Johnson Washington 1791-1793 William Paterson Washington (W, 1793) William Patersonᵃ Washington 1793-1806 John Rutledgeᵇ Washington (R, 1795) William Cushingb Washington (D, 1796) Samuel Chase Washington 1796-1811 Oliver Ellsworth Washington 1796-1800 Bushrod Washington J. Adams 1798-1829 Alfred Moore J. Adams 1799-1804 John Jayb J. Adams (D, 1801) John Marshall J. Adams 1801-1835 William Johnson Jefferson 1804-1834 H. Brockholst Livingston Jefferson 1806-1823 Thomas Todd Jefferson 1807-1826 Levi Lincoln Madison (D, 1811) Alexander Wolcott Madison (R, 1811) John Quincy Adams Madison (D, 1811) Joseph Story Madison 1811-1845 Gabriel Duval Madison 1811-1835 Smith Thompson Monroe 1823-1843 245 246 Supreme Court Nominations Suf Name Nominated by Service Name No Robert Trimble J. Q. Adams 1826-1828 Joseph P. Bradley Gra John J. Crittenden J.Q. Adams (P, 1829) Ward Hunt Gra John McLean Jackson 1829-1861 George H. Williams Gra Henry Baldwin Jackson 1830-1844 Caleb Cushing Gra Morrison R. Waite James M. Wayne Jackson 1835-1867 Gra Roger B. Taney Jackson (P, 1835) John M. Harlan Hay Roger B. Taneyᵃ Jackson 1836-1864 William B. Woods Hay Philip P. Barbour Jackson 1836-1841 Stanley Matthews Hay William Smith Jackson (D, 1837) John Catron Jackson 1837-1865 Stanley Matthewsᵃ Gar John McKinley Van Buren 1837-1852 Horace Gray Arth Peter V. Daniel Van Buren 1841-1860 Roscoe Conkling Arth Samuel Blatchford Arth John C. Spencer Tyler (R, 1844) Reuben H. Walworth Tyler (W, 1844) Lucius Q. C. Lamar Clev Edward King Tyler (P, 1844) Melville W. Fuller Clev Edward Kingᵃ Tyler (W, 1845) David J. Brewer Hari Samuel Nelson Tyler 1845-1872 Henry B. Brown Hari John M. Read Tyler No action George Shiras Jr. Harı George W. Woodward Polk (R, 1846) Howell E. Jackson Hari Levi Woodbury Polk 1846-1851 William B. Hornblower Clev Robert C. Grier Polk 1846-1870 Wheeler H. Peckham Clev Benjamin R. Curtis Fillmore 1851-1857 Edward D. White Clev Edward A. Bradford Fillmore No action Rufus W. Peckham Clev George E. Badger Fillmore (P, 1853) Joseph McKenna McK William C. Micou Fillmore No action Oliver W. Holmes T.R John A. Campbell Pierce 1853-1861 William R. Day T.R Nathan Clifford Buchanan 1858-1881 William H. Moody T.R Jeremiah S. Black Buchanan (R, 1861) Horace H. Lurton Taft Noah H. Swayne Lincoln 1862-1881 Edward D. Whiteᵇ Taft Samuel F. Miller Lincoln 1862-1890 Charles E. Hughes Taft David Davis Lincoln 1862-1877 Willis Van Devanter Taft Stephen J. Field Lincoln 1863-1897 Joseph R. Lamar Taft Salmon P. Chase Lincoln 1864-1873 Mahlon Pitney Taft Henry Stanbery Johnson No action James C. McReynolds Wilso Ebenezer R. Hoar Louis D. Brandeis Grant (R, 1870) Wilso Edwin M. Stantonᶜ John H. Clarke Grant 1869 Wilso William Strong Grant 1870-1880 William H. Taft ations Supreme Court Nominations 247 Nominated by Service Name Nominated by Service J.Q. Adams 1826-1828 Joseph P. Bradley Grant 1870-1892 J.Q. Adams (P, 1829) Ward Hunt Grant 1872-1882 George H. Williams Grant (W, 1874) Jackson 1829-1861 Caleb Cushing Grant (W, 1874) Jackson 1830-1844 Morrison R. Waite Grant 1874-1888 Jackson 1835-1867 Jackson (P, 1835) John M. Harlan Hayes 1877-1911 Jackson 1836-1864 William B. Woods Hayes 1880-1887 Jackson 1836-1841 Stanley Matthews Hayes No action Jackson (D, 1837) Stanley Matthewsᵃ Garfield 1881-1889 Jackson 1837-1865 Horace Gray Arthur 1881-1902 Van Buren 1837-1852 Van Buren 1841-1860 Roscoe Conkling Arthur (D, 1882) Samuel Blatchford Arthur 1882-1893 Tyler (R, 1844) (W, 1844) Lucius Q. C. Lamar Cleveland 1888-1893 Tyler (P, 1844) Melville W. Fuller Cleveland 1888-1910 Tyler Tyler (W, 1845) David J. Brewer Harrison 1889-1910 Tyler 1845-1872 Henry B. Brown Harrison 1890-1906 Tyler No action George Shiras Jr. Harrison 1892-1903 Harrison 1893-1895 Polk (R, 1846) Howell E. Jackson Polk 1846-1851 William B. Hornblower Cleveland (R, 1894) Polk 1846-1870 Wheeler H. Peckham Cleveland (R, 1894) Fillmore 1851-1857 Edward D. White Cleveland 1894-1921 No action Rufus W. Peckham Cleveland 1895-1909 Fillmore Fillmore (P, 1853) Joseph McKenna McKinley 1898-1925 Fillmore No action Oliver W. Holmes T. Roosevelt 1902-1932 Pierce 1853-1861 William R. Day T. Roosevelt 1903-1922 Buchanan 1858-1881 William H. Moody T. Roosevelt 1906-1910 Buchanan (R, 1861) Horace H. Lurton Taft 1909-1914 Lincoln 1862-1881 Edward D. Whiteᵇ Taft 1910-1921 Lincoln 1862-1890 Charles E. Hughes Taft 1910-1916 Lincoln 1862-1877 Willis Van Devanter Taft 1910-1937 Lincoln 1863-1897 Joseph R. Lamar Taft 1910-1916 Lincoln 1864-1873 Mahlon Pitney Taft 1912-1922 Johnson No action James C. McReynolds Wilson 1914-1941 Louis D. Brandeis Wilson 1916-1939 Grant (R, 1870) John H. Clarke Wilson 1916-1922 Grant 1869 Grant 1870-1880 William H. Taft Harding 1921-1930 248 Supreme Court Nominations Supreme Name Nominated by Service Name Nominat George Sutherland Harding 1922-1938 John Paul Stevens Ford Pierce Butler Harding 1922-1939 Sandra Day O'Connor Edward T. Sanford Harding 1923-1930 Reagan Harlan F. Stone Coolidge 1925-1946 a Earlier nomination not confirmed. b Earlier Court service. Charles E. Hughesb Hoover 1930-1941 c Died four days after confirmation. John J. Parker Hoover (R, 1930) Boldface type indicates nomination as chief justice. Owen J. Roberts Hoover 1930-1945 (D) Declined Benjamin N. Cardozo Hoover 1932-1938 (P) Postponed (R) Rejected Hugo L. Black F. Roosevelt 1937-1971 (W) Withdrawn Stanley F. Reed F. Roosevelt 1938-1957 Felix Frankfurter F. Roosevelt 1939-1962 SOURCES: Leon Friedman and Fred L. Israel, eds., T William O. Douglas F. Roosevelt 1939-1975 States Supreme Court, 1789-1969 (New York: R. R. Bov Frank Murphy F. Roosevelt 1940-1949 Journal of the U.S. Senate, 1789-1975; Guide to ti Harlan F. Stoneᵇ F. Roosevelt 1941-1946 (Washington, D.C.: Congressional Quarterly Inc., 1979 James F. Byrnes F. Roosevelt 1941-1942 Robert H. Jackson F. Roosevelt 1941-1954 Wiley B. Rutledge F. Roosevelt 1943-1949 Harold H. Burton Truman 1945-1958 Fred M. Vinson Truman 1946-1953 Tom C. Clark Truman 1949-1967 Sherman Minton Truman 1949-1956 Earl Warren Eisenhower 1953-1969 John M. Harlan Eisenhower 1955-1971 William J. Brennan Jr. Eisenhower 1956- Charles E. Whittaker Eisenhower 1957-1962 Potter Stewart Eisenhower 1958-1981 Byron R. White Kennedy 1962- Arthur J. Goldberg Kennedy 1962-1965 Abe Fortas Johnson 1965-1969 Thurgood Marshall Johnson 1967- Abe Fortasᵇ Johnson (W, 1968) Homer Thornberry Johnson No action Warren E. Burger Nixon 1969- Clement Haynsworth Jr. Nixon (R, 1969) G. Harrold Carswell Nixon (R, 1970) Harry A. Blackmun Nixon 1970- Lewis F. Powell Jr. Nixon 1971- William H. Rehnquist Nixon 1971- tions Supreme Court Nominations 249 Nominated by Service Name Nominated by Service Harding 1922-1938 John Paul Stevens Ford 1975- Harding 1922-1939 Sandra Day O'Connor Reagan 1981- Harding 1923-1930 Coolidge 1925-1946 a Earlier nomination not confirmed. b Earlier Court service. Hoover 1930-1941 c Died four days after confirmation. Hoover (R, 1930) Boldface type indicates nomination as chief justice. Hoover 1930-1945 (D) Declined Hoover 1932-1938 (P) Postponed (R) Rejected F. Roosevelt 1937-1971 (W) Withdrawn F. Roosevelt 1938-1957 F. Roosevelt 1939-1962 SOURCES: Leon Friedman and Fred L. Israel, eds., The Justices of the United F. Roosevelt 1939-1975 States Supreme Court, 1789-1969 (New York: R. R. Bowker Co., 1969); Executive Journal of the U.S. Senate, 1789-1975; Guide to the U.S. Supreme Court F. Roosevelt 1940-1949 (Washington, D.C.: Congressional Quarterly Inc., 1979); updated by author. F. Roosevelt 1941-1946 F. Roosevelt 1941-1942 F. Roosevelt 1941-1954 F. Roosevelt 1943-1949 Truman 1945-1958 Truman 1946-1953 Truman 1949-1967 Truman 1949-1956 Eisenhower 1953-1969 1955-1971 ACING HEARINGS Supreme Court iominee Clarence Thomas pauses for hought-during visit to Capitol Hill, where onfirmation hearings pen Tuesday. The tory of his gutsy climb rom the poverty and acism of the segregated outh has been a owerful theme stressed y supporters. RAY LUSTIG THE WASHINGTON POST Thomas: Growing Up Black in a White World First of two articles 9-8-91 who at mealtime acted as if he had a If there was one constant in the early life of contagious disease, recalled Mark Everson, Clarence Thomas, whose confirmation By John Lancaster and Sharon LaFraniere now a child psychologist in North Carolina hearings for a seat on the Supreme Court Washington Post Staff Writers But perhaps Thomas's most poignant begin Tuesday, it was his knowledge of how recollection was of a subtler shade of racism his skin color set him apart. T he gathering was a friendly one, high "He had a pair of shoes that were much Racism affected Thomas in ways both large school classmates getting together at a more fashionable than we had, and we would and small, dictating his choice of schools, restaurant a few months after their tease him about those shoes, which were barring him from the James Bond movies he traduation. But Clarence Thomas had something more acceptable in a black school,' yearned to see and even earning him taunts omething he wanted to get off his chest. Everson said. "And he commented about from fellow black children, who mocked his As his classmates listened uncomfortably, how hard it was to try to fit in with his black exceptionally dark complexion. Once it got homas bitterly unburdened himself of the friends one way and then at [school], where him ejected from a Shakey's pizzeria. lights and humiliations he had suffered as the we would tease him for the way he dressed. Ultimately it helped drive him off the path to irst black to graduate from their small Everson said Thomas's revelations left him the priesthood: Catholic boarding school near Savannah, Ga. deeply moved. "We were products of a certain But if Thomas knew firsthand the pain of He reminded his dinner companions of the time and generation in Georgia," he said. "I racial injustice, he also suffered from its nunts and racial gibes and of the classmates was saddened that we had been that way. See THOMAS, A20, Col. 1 I called the Supreme Court Public Affairs Office for the lighter side of things: The junior justice is responsible for getting up and answering the door should anyone knock during a meeting of the nine justices. Thomas will be driving himself to work. The justices are active people -- some play tennis, some play golf, one plays bridge. Thomas will have one of the smaller offices. Thomas will be the only southerner on the court; all the others are from the west, midwest, and New England areas. October 16, 1991 MEMORANDUM FOR TONY SNOW FROM: MICHELE NIX SUBJECT: CLARENCE THOMAS SWEARING-IN CEREMONY Here's some preliminary research for the Thomas swearing-in ceremony. I've included the following: Past swearing-in remarks for Souter, Kennedy, Scalia, and O'Connor Thomas's remarks yesterday after the confirmation vote Some NEXIS articles -- one has some color about Thomas that you might use if you want to refer to his upbringing A quote by Thomas that I jotted down while listening to the hearings this past weekend The nomination announcement remarks An article from Policy Review -- A June 1987 speech Thomas gave before The Heritage Foundation about the black conservative Oct. 6 / Administration of George Bush, 1990 Message to the House of October 10th and settle them on October In ar Representatives Returning Without 11th. formed Approval a Resolution Providing George Bush for win Funding for Continued Government The White House, And y Operation October 6, 1990. Benjan October 6, 1990 wind And at To the House of Representatives: Remarks at the Swearing-In Ceremony tering I am returning herewith without my ap- for David H. Souter as an Associate delega Justice of the Supreme Court of the wonde proval H.J. Res. 660-a resolution making United States Washir continuing appropriations-which would extend funding for the Federal Govern- October 8, 1990 short ( lightni ment through October 12, 1990. In provid- ing for such funding, H.J. Res. 660 would The President. Thank you all, and good One Wilson also suspend the sequester that is required afternoon. Mr. Chief Justice, and members by the Gramm-Rudman-Hollings law. The of the Court; Members of the United States Pennsy bility sequester would be suspended even though Congress that are here today, Senate and draft. the Congress has failed repeatedly to act in House; members of the Cabinet; Mr. Vice of the any meaningful way to reduce the Federal President: It is truly an honor to greet you nation: deficit. Under these circumstances, I simply all here at the White House and particularly envisio cannot approve H.J. Res. 660. to welcome the friends of this extraordinary Today Justice to Washington. When the Budget Summit Agreement corner was announced by the Bipartisan Leader- Today's ceremony is historic for many Ameri ship on September 30th, I indicated that I reasons. It is, of course, the first Supreme Tom would not sign a continuing resolution until Court appointment of this Presidency. More Souter a satisfactory budget resolution was passed. importantly, it serves as another occasion to [laugh The Congress failed to pass such a budget celebrate the 200 years of the Constitution the Su resolution during the past week. I have of the United States and the independent very : made the difficult political decisions that judiciary it launched. men are required to achieve a meaningful reduc- We meet on Columbus Day, birthplace of first a tion in the Federal deficit. Responsible con- a modern hemisphere and an auspicious 1789. gressional action to reduce the deficit can date for any new beginning. Elsewhere ton, a be delayed no longer. It is time for the around the world, the origins of many coun- the F Congress to act responsibly on a budget res- tries are almost lost in time, their roots un- memb olution-not time for business as usual. clear, unknown. Not so in America. We that I know exactly where and exactly when our intelle I urge the Congress to concentrate its en- modern history began. But we often forget This ergies on passing a satisfactory budget reso- seat b lution to clear the way for approval of an- that back in 1492, Christopher Columbus other short-term continuing resolution, and was searching not for a new world but a one o senho the enactment of meaningful deficit reduc- new way-a passage to the riches of the Far East. In fact, Columbus was so confident he jurist tion legislation no later than October 19th. carried a letter from Queen Isabella to be person of the I note that H.J. Res. 660 would also in- delivered to the Emperor of China. This stand crease the Federal debt limit until October marked history's first known case of mail wish 12th. If it becomes clear that the Congress getting lost on its way-[laughter]-across ment. cannot pass a satisfactory budget resolution America. Like by October 9th, I urge that it enact a clean But if our modern history began with a bill extending the debt limit so that the U.S. come: search for earthly treasure, it was a search record Government will not default on its obliga- for something more elusive that actually that 1. tions on October 11th. The latest date by gave birth to the United States: a search for has St which action on a debt limit extension is freedom, a search for justice and self-gov- Durin needed to avoid default is October 9th, so ernment, a search that produced the Con- clearl that the Treasury can auction securities on stitution of the United States. trainii 1544 Administration of George Bush, 1990 / Oct. 8 In ancient China, the word "wisdom" was record. But even more important, he once formed by a combination of the ideograms again demonstrated his lifelong devotion to for wind and lightning-wind and lightning. principle-a simple, straightforward, and And years before the American Revolution, enduring principle, a principle quite famil- Benjamin Franklin lofted a kite upon the iar to Justice James Wilson and the other wind and seized lightning from the sky. framers of the Constitution. And the princi- And at age 81, he did it again. For 4 swel- ple is this: The role assigned to judges in tering months in the summer of 1787, 55 our system is to interpret the Constitution delegates met in Philadelphia, debating a and lesser laws and not to make them. wonderful, audacious, unsettling idea. And on this issue of principle I also want Washington called the Constitution "little short of a miracle." It was-with wind and to congratulate and thank the Judiciary Committee and the full Senate for the lightning-a nation inventing itself. prompt and faithful exercise of their own One of those 55 delegates was James Wilson, the son of a Scottish farmer and the constitutional responsibilities. Chairman Biden is with us and Senator Thurmond Pennsylvania lawyer who shared responsi- bility for writing the Constitution's first and others, and we are grateful to you for draft. A fervent advocate of the sovereignty your role in this procedure. of the people, Wilson fought for a strong Like many Americans, I was particularly national judiciary and was one of the first to moved by Justice Souter's opening com- envision the principles of judicial review. ments at his hearings. "The first lesson," he Today Wilson's idea stands as one of the said, "simple as it is, is that whatever court cornerstones of our republic and one of we're in, whatever we are doing, at the end America's greatest gifts to the world. of our task some human being is going to Tomorrow morning, Justice David be affected. Some human life is going to be Souter-sounds good, doesn't it, David- changed by what we do." And he added, [laughter]-assumes a distinguished seat on "And so we had better use every power of the Supreme Court. It was first held by that our minds and our hearts and our beings to very same James Wilson, one of the five get those rulings right." Now, those are the men that President George Washington sentiments of a very thoughtful and caring first appointed to the Supreme Court in man. 1789. His successor was Bushrod Washing- And just down the street, as the autumn ton, a nephew of the President, soldier in twilight descends on Washington, an under- the Revolutionary War, and a founding ground vault holds America's founding member of one of the many organizations papers, the birth certificate of a nation. The that has recognized David Souter for his paper is a deep yellow, but the writing is intellect-namely, Phi Beta Kappa. still strong and distinct: "We the People of Thirty-four years ago this distinguished the United States." And the Constitution is seat became open during the Presidency of not just a symbol but a living idea, the one of my personal heroes, Dwight D. Ei- world's greatest experiment in freedom and senhower. And Ike filled that seat with a self-government, four handwritten pages jurist who was to become one of the most that promise freedom and justice before the personally beloved and respected members law. Unlike other nations, Americans cannot of the Court, Justice Brennan. Will you look to a common heritage of culture or stand up? I guess you can tell that all of us blood. Americans come from every corner wish you a most pleasant and active retire- of the world, linked only by this-an idea- ment. And thank you for your service, sir. a nation that invented itself. Like his predecessor, Justice Souter In just a few moments we will all bear comes to the Court with a distinguished solemn witness to the oath of office of record of judicial service. And I'm grateful America's newest Supreme Court Justice. that many of the fine judges with whom he And so, let me conclude with Justice has served are able to be with us today. Souter's own description of the task ahead: During the recent hearings, Justice Souter "It is the responsibility to join with eight clearly demonstrated the superb education, other people to make the promises of the training, and experience that grace his Constitution a reality of our time, and to 1545 Oct. 8 / Administration of George Bush, 1990 preserve that Constitution for the genera- said, "What's her phone number?" So, I and to his office, which tions that will follow us after we are gone gave him her phone number, and he called tence would have be from here." my mother on the phone. tional by the efforts And now I would invite the Chief Justice, And he said-as best I can recall the con- trail and a biograpl William Rehnquist, with the assistance of versation, he said, "Now, look, Mrs. Souter," [laughter]-did not Irin Rath, to administer the constitutional th of office to Justice David Souter. And I he said, "I want you to know he's okay." July 23d as it later see also understand that Judge Souter would [Laughter] He said, "We've got him up And, of course, if I here and we're watching the news, and he's the people who hav like Senator Rudman and Tom Rath to join having a drink. And we'll look after him, shored me up and g¹ us up here also. So, Mr. Chief Justice, if you will do it, sir. and he's going to be all right." [Laughter] the race that I have That is a phone call, although it did not 11 weeks, to my r [At this point, Justice Souter was sworn in.] come to me, that I will never forget, and no friends both old and I Justice Souter. Mr. President, Mr. Vice one in my family will ever forget. And it And I stand here Si to you, how can I th President, Mr. Chief Justice and members epitomizes for me the reason why my sense of the Court, members of the leadership, of gratitude to the President goes so far everyone in this roor Chairman Biden, Senator Thurmond, and beyond anything that could be called really. We can ne members of the Judiciary Committee, all simply "official." And that same sense of people who do us g' and what we try to Members of the Congress, and my friends— gratitude extends not only, of course, to my and to make the gil new and old. mother, who took the call that afternoon, come to us a kind O' It is exactly 11 weeks to the hour since I but to virtually everyone who has dealt stood next to the President in another room with me in those 11 weeks. goes on traveling. And I think the IT in this house, facing about the same It certainly extends to the Judiciary Com- afternoon is that tha number of people. I'm sure that you re- mittee of the Senate, which used me with do. I will try to pa member, if you saw films of that afternoon, consummate fairness, and to all the Mem- ceived. Most import: that I was in a state of virtual shock. And bers of the Senate who reviewed their rec- on the constitutiona I'm glad that I can say that in the 11 weeks ommendation. It extends to the members of received this afterno since then I've at least advanced in the di- the Supreme Court, who, even before as best I can accordir rection of some degree of composure. I today, have done their best to make me feel gives me. And in di have not, however, in the 11 weeks, got welcome and have repeated their efforts to pass it to another in myself to the point this afternoon where I me this afternoon. It extends to the ABA I have received it th really am capable of saying what is on my [American Bar Association] committee, the from Justice Brenna mind. What I would like to try to say some- standing committee on the judiciary, which it. And I will try thing about-I think I can explain to you if reviewed my credentials; and most particu- refreshed-to anoth I tell you a story about what happened later larly, to the subcommittee which worked so American republic V that afternoon 11 weeks ago. long on me. of us all. After the President's news conference, I And I wish I could also thank adequately The President. It was immediately taken into Governor Su- the counselors that I've had, right from that tice Souter is from S nunu's office and the planning process first bit of advice from Governor Sununu so New Hampshire the began. And this went on for I guess about shortly after the nomination to Kenneth without a lot of larg an hour. And at the end of that hour the Duberstein and to Frederick McClure, who But I think we all 1 Governor came in, and he said that the have counseled me in extraordinary ways But I would like to President believed I could probably stand these last couple of months, to Boyden Gray Court and the Vice some refurbishing. And I thought, well, the and to the members of his office, particular- of the Cabinet and President finally got it right this afternoon. ly to Fred Nelson, who was sort of my guide ary Committee and [Laughter] So, I was taken upstairs to where through these weeks and proved a wonder- gress and then ever the President and Mrs. Bush were watching ful guide. in a receiving line the news, and the President gave me a My thanks certainly go to the Attorney Souter how happy drink to compose myself. And after a General and to the members of his office meet you out here. couple of minutes of conversation, Mrs. who helped me on research chores and Bush said to me, "How is your mother were fastidious in drawing a line between Note: The Presiden taking this?" I told her that I called my what was appropriate for the Justice De- East Room at the 1 mother on the phone and I could report partment and what was appropriate for the to Erin Rath, the G that the mother was taking things a lot nominee. And my thanks certainly extend friend of Justice S better than the son was. And the President to the attorney general of New Hampshire 1546 Administration of George Bush, 1990 / Oct. 9 o, I and to his office, which but for their compe- ferred to John H. Sununu, Chief of Staff to lled tence would have been rendered dysfunc- President Bush; Kenneth M. Duberstein, tional by the efforts to construct a paper former Chief of Staff to President Reagan; con- trail and a biography for me, which— Frederick McClure, Assistant to the President er," [laughter]-did not seem as apparent on for Legislative Affairs; C. Boyden Gray, ay." July 23d as it later seemed to be. Counsel to the President; Frederick D. Nel- up And, of course, if I could, I would thank son, Associate Counsel to the President; At- he's the people who have supported me and torney General Dick Thornburgh; and John him, shored me up and given me the spirit for Arnold, New Hampshire attorney general. ter] the race that I have had to run these past not 11 weeks, to my neighbors and to my 1 no friends both old and new. d it And I stand here saying to you, or asking to you, how can I thank you? And I think nse Statement on Signing a Resolution far everyone in this room knows that I cannot Providing Funding for Continued lled really. We can never recompense the Government Operation of people who do us good. What we can do, October 9, 1990 and what we try to do instead, is pass it on my and to make the gifts and kindnesses that on, I am today signing H.J. Res. 666, a tempo- ealt come to us a kind of human currency that rary continuing resolution, providing funds goes on traveling. for the Government to operate through Oc- And I think the most that I can say this om- tober 19, 1990. afternoon is that that is what I will try to with do. I will try to pass on what I have re- In vetoing the previous continuing resolu- em- ceived. Most importantly, I will try to pass tion, I said I would not sign any such resolu- ec- on the constitutional authority that I have tion until the Congress had passed a budget S of resolution. I want to thank the Members of received this afternoon. I will try to use it ore as best I can according to the light that God the Congress who voted to sustain my veto. feel gives me. And in due course I will try to The Congress has now passed a budget to pass it to another in as vigorous condition as resolution which, if fully implemented, BA I have received it this afternoon, as it were, would reduce the Federal deficit by $500 the from Justice Brennan. I will try to preserve billion over the next 5 years. If achieved, ich it. And I will try to transmit it-I hope this would be the largest deficit reduction cu- refreshed-to another generation of the program in history. While I am not fully so American republic which is the inheritance satisfied with the budget resolution, it does of us all. provide a framework within which the com- ely The President. It is not because Mr. Jus- mittees of the Congress can now work to hat tice Souter is from strict Yankee tradition in provide substantive law that comes close to so New Hampshire that the reception will be fulfilling the letter-and that does fulfill the eth without a lot of largess in there. [Laughter] spirit-of the Bipartisan Budget Summit ho But I think we all know the circumstances. Agreement announced on September 30, ays But I would like to ask the members of the 1990. ay Court and the Vice President and members The next step in implementing the ar- of the Cabinet and members of the Judici- budget resolution is the passage of a budget de ary Committee and other Members of Con- reconciliation bill. Its component parts are er- gress and then everybody else to join us just to be submitted to the budget committees in a receiving line so we can all tell Justice of the Congress by October 12th. ey Souter how happy we are. So, let's go. We'll There is, unfortunately, no assurance that ice meet you out here. the congressional committees will, in fact, nd produce a fully satisfactory reconciliation en Note: The President spoke at 5 p.m. in the bill. But I repeat: I will not accept business )e- East Room at the White House. He referred as usual. he to Erin Rath, the daughter of Tom Rath, a I am obliged to make clear that the rec- nd friend of Justice Souter. Justice Souter re- onciliation bill now called for: re 1547 THE OF OF THE OF THE UNITED The White House Office of Public Affairs Presidential Wire Supreme Court Nominee Judge Clarence Thomas Excerpts from President Bush's address at the National Night Out Against Crime ceremony August 6, 1991 "Our nominee for the U.S. Supreme Court -- let me just say a word about him -- Judge Clarence Thomas. He not only has lived the values that we hold dear, he's promoted them through his distinguished career in public service. And his personal story -- when you meet him you can't help but be impressed -- in my case, deeply moved. It impresses everybody, everybody that's fair and open-minded. "And I nominated him because he has the brains, he has the record and he has the personal decency that Americans should expect in a Justice of the Supreme Court -- a fidelity to the Constitution and the rule of law. "Judge Thomas has tremendous support from a broad section, a cross-section of America. And that across-the-board support includes minority communities, overwhelmingly supported in minority communities, I might add, and is now manifesting itself in measurable ways. So when you hear about opposition to Judge Thomas from one beltway group or another, it's clear that they are simply out of touch with mainstream America. "Look at today's piece in The Washington Post by Margaret Bush Wilson, a former chairman of the NAACP's National Board of Directors for nine years, and she's known Judge Thomas for 17 years, known him personally. In supporting the Judge, she said, 'I know that as a Supreme Court Justice, Clarence Thomas will continue to defend and protect the rights of the needy. He does not permit anyone to think for him and he is intellectually honest.' Maybe some of these groups out there could take a lesson from that distinguished civil rights advocate and look at the facts and the record instead of engaging in ideological attacks. "As we talk today about values and about taking responsibility for building a better future, Clarence Thomas comes to mind. He certainly exemplifies the very attitudes we want all Americans to adopt as they build better, safer communities." Drug Enforcement Agency Auditorium Arlington, Virginia For further information call the White House Office of Public Affairs at 202/456-2483. COMMENTS IN SUPPORT OF JUDGE CLARENCE THOMAS Gregory K. Washington, Chairman of the Maryland Black Republican Council, The Evening Sun, August 1, 1991 "The nomination of Judge Clarence Thomas to the U.S. Supreme Court pushes the federal government forward in the spirit of President's Bush's All-American agency. Judge Thomas is an honorable and courageous man who has risen from Southern poverty to stand above others as an inspirational role model for the black youth today. In developing a philosophy of self-reliance, he emphasizes his belief that any person of any race is capable of achieving anything he or she wants." " President Bush did not seek to fill a quota, but to maintain diversity on the top court, and by doing so he selected a fiercely independent thinker with a staunch structural interpretation of the Constitution. " "As an African American, I am proud of Judge Clarence Thomas and what he stands for. Clearly, he deserves confirmation." *** Margaret Bush Wilson, an attorney in St. Louis, chaired the National Board of Directors of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People from 1975 to 1984. The Washington Post, Tuesday August 6, 1991 "Recently, the NAACP National Board took action opposing Judge Thomas's nomination. I wish it had withheld judgement until after the hearings, because the Clarence Thomas I have been reading about often bears little resemblance to the thoughtful and caring man I have known over the years. "Judge Thomas reflects the diversity and complexity of African-American thinking, but his views are not nearly as radical as his critics suggest. .. He seeks a climate where African-Americans and other minorities feel empowered to compete equally with their counterparts of other races, with rational support from government programs." " To rise above the dual curses of poverty and discrimination requires tremendous individual effort from a special kind of person, help from others and luck. All these have been present in Judge Thomas's career. "Throughout the history of the U.S. Supreme Court, I don't believe any other nominee can claim to have come so far. In point of fact, Judge Thomas's unique perspective belongs not only 1 on the Supreme Court but in legislature, in the work place, at a city hall and on our campuses. "No one can deny that Judge Thomas would differ with Justice Thurgood Marshall on some issues. I don't always agree with the justice myself. I do believe that both men show a common, fundamental belief in the inherent worth and rights of the individual. At one of his four previous Senate confirmation hearings, Judge Thomas said, 'The reason I became a lawyer was to make sure that minorities, individuals who did not have access to this society, gained access. I may differ with others on how best to do that, but the objective has always been to include those who have been excluded.' " Judge Thomas has been looking out for the vulnerable and victimized on the job, in the community and at the court. I know that as a Supreme Court justice Clarence Thomas will continue to defend and protect the rights of the needy. He does not permit anyone to think for him, and he is intellectually honest. " * * * For further information call the White House Office of Public Affairs at 202/456-2483. 2 THE EVENING SUN DATE: 8/1/91 PAGE: A13 Judge Thomas is proof blacks can make it The nomination of Judge Clar- ence Thomas to the U.S. Supreme staunch structural interpretation of Court pushes the federal government the Constitution. He chose an indi- forward in the spirit of President vidual who will represent all Ameri- Bush's All-American agency. Judge cans on the highest court of the land Thomas is an honorable and coura- in the most objective, responsible geous man who has risen from and knowledgeable way. Southern poverty to stand above oth- Judge Thomas is a man who has ers as an inspirational role model continuously overcome adversity, for the black youth of today. In de- placing no blame on society or what veloping a philosophy of self-reli- it represents. Rather, he recognized ance, he emphasizes his belief that it, pulled himself up by his boot- any person of any race is capable of straps and succeeded in elevating achieving anything he or she wants. himself both within the Republican All people are capable of fulfilling Party and the United States govern- their own "American Dream," but ment. only if they possess a willingness to As an African American, I am work hard enough for it. proud of Judge Clarence Thomas Good government is comprised of and what be stands for. Clearly, he the individual, and each person's deserves confirmation. ability, dignity, morality and respon- Gregory K. Washington sibility as demonstrated within this The writer is chairman of the system must be honored and recog- Maryland Black Republican nized. This is what George Bush has Council. done for Judge Thomas. He has drawn him into the spotlight to un- dergo the scrutiny of his peers and the American people. President Bush did not seek to fill a quota, but to maintain diversity on the top court, and by doing so he selected a fiercely independent thinker with a PAGE 40or49 THE WASHINGTON POST THEM. 1991 A15 Margaret Bush Wilson The NAACP Is Wrong on Thomas The young man standing at my door that integrity, his legal mind and his determination. beyond misinformed rhetoric. On a personal unls who did not have access to this society. summer day in 1974 looked like an African Even when we disagre I have found him to be a level. he knows the struggle and hardship blacks gained access. prince. "Hello, I'm Clarence Thomas," he said 1 I may differ with others on sensitive and compassionate person trving to do and the impoverished of every race grapple with know," I replied. "I've been expecting VOU." And how best to do that, but the objective has always what IS right. working: to make the world a better daily-not to mention the plight of most families, been to include those who have been excluded." so began a friendship with someone I think of place. fondly as a second son. suice in. my judgment the central issue of our As young Clarence Thomas left my home at Back then I sensed that he would one day be in time is that some 82 percent of the families in I first heard of young Thomas (then almost 26) the end of the summer, he asked how much he a position to have a larger impact. but I had no these United States have noldiscretionary income from his employer-to-be, Sen. John Danforth owed for his stay. I told him that he owed me way of knowing that this determined young man (R-Mo.), who was attorney general of Missouri at after bills and taxes are paid. nothing, but I did want a promise from him. I night one day have the chance to tackle some of the time. Mr. Danforth told me he had just hired We didn't talk much about Judge Thomas's asked him to promise that if he were ever in a our country's problems on this nation's highest a bright young law graduate from Yale and asked background that summer 17 years ago, so it is court. position 10 reach out and help others that he if I knew of a place the young man could live for only recently that I have learned about his would do it, just as some had done for me and as I Recently, the NAACP National Board took the summer while studying for the Missouri bar. humble beginnings. The cramped house with no had done for him. action opposing Judge Thomas's nomination. I My own son, Robert, was then a law student with plunibing in rural Georgia, his wise but not wish it had withheld judgment until after the He promised he would, and Judge Thomas has plans to work that summer in Washington. I learned grandparents, the Catholic nuns and the hearings, because the Clarence Thomas I have been keeping his word ever since, looking out for invited young Clarence to stay in my son's empty been reading about often bears little resemblance rest have only recently come into full view for the vulnerable and victimized on the job. in the room. to the thoughtful and caring man I have know me. To rise above the dual curses of poverty and community and at the court. I know that as a I don't recall seeing another young person as over these years. discrimination requires tremendous individual ef- Supreme Court justice Clarence Thomas will disciplined as Clarence Thomas. First thing, Judge Thomas reflects the diversity and com- fort from a special kind of person, help from continue to defend and protect the rights of the every day. he would exercise with my son's plexity of African-American thinking. but his others and luck. All these have been present in needy. lie does not permit anyone to think for weights and then be off to his studies. I asked of views are not nearly as radical as his critics Judge Thomas's career. him, and he is intellectually honest. hum only one thing: I would prepare dinner, and suggest. He has pushed for a new frontier in civil Throughout the history of the U.S. Supreme When the history of these times is written, it he would show up on time. We would eat rights, and heaven knows we need one when Court, I don't believe any other nominee can will be interesting to see how historians view the together every night, often with one or two one-third of African Americans are still in poverty claim to have come so far. In point of fact, Judge position of the National Board of the NAACP- friends or relatives and talk about any and all of as we approach the 21st century. lie seeks a Thomas's unique perspective belongs not only on an organization committed to advancing colored the problems of the world. climate where African Americans and other mi- the Supreme Court but in the legislature, in the people. which is opposed. on ideological grounds, We didn't always agree (Clarence was "con- norities feel empowered to compete equally with work place, at city hall and on our campuses. to this nomination of a black man to the U.S. servative" even then). but I was impressed con- their counterparts of other races, with rational No one can deny that Judge Thomas would Supreme Court. tinually with one so young whose reasoning was support from government programs. differ with Justice Thurgood Marshall on some Let the record show that the NAACP's former so sound. I must also admit that his arguments, Some have said that despite his chairmanship issues. I don't always agree with the justice national board ch.ur respectfully disagrees with both legal and logical, forced me to rethink some of the Equal Employment Opportunity Commis- myself. 1 do believe that both men show a its position. of my own views. I know I sometimes made him sion for eight years, be has not been a champion common, fundamental belief in the inherent see things differently. too, because Clarence of civil rights. Those people obviously don't know worth and rights of the individual. At one of his The writer. an attorney in St. Louis. chaired Thomas knew how to listen as well as talk. Judge Thomas or the real facts about his tenure four previous Senate confirmation hearings, the National Board of Directors of the Across the years, I have kept in touch with with the EEOC. His record will speak for itself Judge Thomas said. "The reason I became a National Association for the Advancement Judge Thomas, and to this day I respect his and will impress those willing to listen and look lawyer was to make sure that minorities, individ- of Colored People from 1975 to 1934. 8/7/91 10:30 a.m. U.S. Supreme Court Nominee Judge Clarence Thomas Association and Organization Endorsements National Small Business United Urges Support for Thomas Nomination 8/6/91 " During his career, Judge Thomas has shown a clear understanding of business issues and the benefits of our free enterprise system," stated John Galles, Executive Vice President of NSBU. Galles cited Judge Thomas' tenure as chair of the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, wherein he worked to increase compliance by working cooperatively with the business community, as an example of his understanding of small business. "Judge Thomas was compassionate toward those very small businesses who wanted and needed to comply with the law, but required assistance in interpreting the manifold complexities in the regulations," he said. Gallas further stated that Judge Thomas' background and upbringing inspire confidence that he understands the meaning and importance of hard work, discipline and entrepreneurship. "These are all things that small business owners are committed to and care deeply about; they form the major pillars of a general outlook on life," he said. "Judge Thomas' rise from humble beginnings to such prominence is a living embodiment of those ideals, and NSBU is pleased that a nominee to this country's highest court would both exemplify and subscribe those key ideals." National Jewish Coalition Supports Thomas Nomination 8/5/91 Judge Thomas will bring to the highest court in the land an intense concern for individual liberty and equal opportunity. He has been commended by jurists, legal scholars and others for his insight into the law, his scholarship and his moral courage. The NJC welcomes the nomination of Judge Thomas, whose life is a testament to hard work, discipline and integrity. Judge Thomas has overcome poverty, discrimination, and family hardships. He has struggled for equality and respect not for himself, but for all Americans, through his service on the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission and his legal work on civil rights issues prior to becoming a judge. Judge Thomas has also been sensitive to issues of religious liberty, and has worked to protect the individual's rights to appropriate religious expression in the workplace according to Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964. The NJC was pleased to learn that Judge Thomas has strongly condemned anti-Semitism, and has disassociated himself from the anti-Semitism of the Reverend Louis Farrakhan. Central State University President Arthur Thomas Endorses Judge Clarence Thomas for Supreme Court (8/1/91) Dear President Bush: Because of Central State University's long and rich tradition of educating and graduating students from all walks of life, I was encouraged to learn of your nomination of this African American for the U.S. Supreme Court. Many of these students now enjoy rich careers in the public sector, private business and other fields of endeavor. I have always advocated the need for. African American youth to have positive role models as they go throughout critical periods of their development. The nomination of Judge Thomas to serve on the highest judicial bench in this land will have a positive impact on our African-American youth regardless of Philosophical and ideological differences that are currently under discussion. Cook County Republicans Endorse Thomas For Supreme Court 7/31/91 Most fair minded and unbiased Americans who are willing to observe, will discover Clarence's outstanding life-long dedication and service to the causes of social justice, economic progress, quality education, and whose mission has been to achieve equitable representation of a multi-cultural society, in a diverse way. Joshua I. Smith, Chairman of Commission On Minority Business Development and Maxima Corporation, Holds Rally In Support of Judge Clarence Thomas (7/31/91) " Nearly every African-American I have spoken to has emphasized we must give Clarence Thomas a chance. This rally was a demonstration that blacks are thinking for themselves and will not be stampeded into a counter-productive reaction." "I am amazed and appalled at the actions of the Executive Committee of the NAACP. "I find it particularly shocking that this organization with its longstanding commitment to African Americans has rejected one of our own as a nominee to the Supreme Court although they made no comments on the last three nominees to the Court who shared Judge Thomas' ideology, but not his race." "I don't know if it is "sour grapes" over the fact that Clarence Thomas has succeeded in life outside the political agenda of many NAACP leaders, or if it is because he is a Republican. But, I do know that Judge Thomas was discriminated against because his is black! That is the tragic irony of Wednesday's action." 2 Women For Judge Thomas Announce Nationwide Support (7/30/91) At a news conference announcing the initial 150 members of the bipartisan organization. Labor Secretary Lynn Martin said, "Clarence Thomas understands -- he knows the inequities, the indignities, the insensitivity. That is why I, and why women across this nation, should support Clarence Thomas' nomination to the Supreme Court." Citing Thomas' long and distinguished record during his 8-year chairmanship of the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC), Martin said "The fact that Clarence Thomas has lived his life as a minority certainly has sensitized him to many of the issues he and women both face. For difference reasons, he has come up against the same barriers many of us in this room have met. "I don't need to know how Clarence Thomas will vote on any one given court case. My litmus test is much simpler, much broader: Does he understand what it is like to start off life at an immediate disadvantage? Does he understand what it is like to have to fight for a place a the table? Does he understand that despite our staunch belief in the principles enshrined in our 'Declaration of Independence' that all men are created equal, all men, all women, are not always treated equally?" Martin said. U.S. Chamber of Commerce Endorses Clarence Thomas for Supreme Court (7/29/91) Chamber President Richard Lesher called Thomas superbly qualified for the Supreme Court. Citing Judge Thomas' diverse background as a corporate counsel, a legislative assistant to Sen. John Danforth, chairman of the Equal Opportunity Employment Commission, and judge on the U.S. Court of Appeals, Lesher stated he was confident Thomas would be an excellent Supreme Court Justice. "I also have the pleasure of knowing Clarence Thomas personally," Lesher said. "Clarence Thomas is a fine person who overcame great personal adversity through perseverance and hard work to reach great heights. His nomination to the Supreme Court is a reaffirmation that the American dream is alive and well." Republican National Lawyers Association Supports Thomas Nomination (7/26/91) We believe that Judge Thomas' qualifications as a lawyer are of the highest order. In addition, he has a distinguished record of public service. Finally, he will bring an unmatched range of experiences and diversity which we believe are essential to the Court's deliberations. In short, Judge Thomas exemplifies the best in the legal profession. 3 U.S. Mexico Foundation Supports Nomination of Judge Clarence Thomas to Supreme Court (7/22/91) Throughout our 20 years of existence, we have honored numerous key individuals, who like Clarence Thomas, have risen above negative circumstances to be a success in their fields of endeavor. Through his inspiring hard work, education and perseverance, Judge Thomas has overcome adverse situations to rise to a high level of excellence, an accomplishment which should be emulated not only by minorities, but by all races. He left a legacy while he was Chairman of the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission. He revitalized the agency, emphasizing its law enforcement mission. Judge Thomas sought tougher penalties against discriminatory businesses and instituted policies which protected the rights of American workers while opening up opportunities for women, older Americans and minorities. The U.S. Hispanic Chamber of Commerce Endorses Thomas (7/22/91) The board of directors of the U.S. Hispanic Chamber of Commerce (USHCC) today unanimously voted in favor of supporting Judge Clarence Thomas' nomination to the U.S. Supreme Court. "The USHCC is a business advocate group concerned with economic rights. As such, we strive to make the market place an even playing field for Hispanic businesses and minority enterprise at large. We believe in economic empowerment of individuals, justice and equal opportunities for all Americans. We value hard work, discipline, moral courage, self-reliance and entrepreneurship. For all these reasons, we support Thomas's nomination." The National Catholic Educational Association Endorses Thomas (7/22/91) " It can not be denied that he [Clarence Thomas] embodies the best and brightest of the American dream. Against all odds, he overcame a disadvantaged and challenging youth to attain a distinguished education; to reach high public office and to gain the respect and gratitude of the leaders of our country. "We believe Mr. Thomas has the qualifications to serve on the Supreme Court and are confident that his accomplishment in achieving this post will stand as an incentive to all young people in America that -- despite all odds -- they have a chance at a better life through learning and self-initiative." Cuban American National Foundation Endorses Thomas (7/19/91) "We are confident that the confirmation of Judge Thomas will be a victory for 4 all persons who value the democratic principles that have served to preserve and strengthen this nation throughout its history. Judge Thomas' presence on the high court will not only reaffirm the Administration's commitment to assure the progress and protection of minorities, but will also bring a range of experience and diversity essential to the court's delicate deliberations." The Republican National Hispanic Assembly Endorses Thomas (7/19/91) The Republican National Hispanic Assembly (RNHA), the official Hispanic auxiliary of the RNC, commends President George Bush on his decision to nominate Judge Clarence Thomas to the U.S. Supreme Court. "This nomination is not dictated by Judge Thomas' race, it is not dictated by his ideology, it is dictated by his first-hand intellect, his varied legal experiences his outstanding character and his commitment to the Constitution and individual rights." "The President nominated him for his fidelity to the Constitution and rule of law. These qualities, coupled with his education and experience, will make him an exemplary Justice of the Supreme Court." National Coalition for Self-Reliance Endorses Thomas (7/18/91) Robert L. Woodson President, National Center for Neighborhood Enterprise & Co-Chair, Coalition for Self-Reliance Reverend Buster Soaries Pastor, First Baptist Church of Lincoln Gardens Somerset, New Jersey & Co-Chair, Coalition for Self-Reliance Honorable Nate Bush Vice President, District of Columbia Board of Education Kimi O. Gray President, National Association of Resident Management Corporations Mabel Haden President, National Association of Black Women Attorneys Nathan Wright Jr., Ph.D. Founding Member, AOIP (a consortium representing 94 Black-led organizations) Fred Brown Chairman, National Black Republican Council Tony Brown Syndicated Journalist Mildred Hailey Executive Director, Bromley Heath Tenant Management Corporation Boston, Massachusetts 5 Juan A. Scott Chairman, Connecticut Black Republican Council Calvin Rolark President, United Black Fund Agudath Israel to Support Bush Supreme Court Nomination (7/17/19) Agudath Israel of America, the nation's largest grassroots Orthodox Jewish movement, today announced its intention to support President Bush's nomination of Judge Clarence Thomas for the U.S. Supreme Court. "Judge Thomas has impressive credentials, both professionally and personally. He has compiled a strong record of distinguished service -- as a judge in the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit, and, prior to that, as the chairman of the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission. He has displayed great sensitivity to the cause of religious liberty. He has articulated a vision of equal opportunity for all Americans that will help move the U.S. toward a society in which people are judged on the basis of their qualifications rather than their race, gender, religion or any other extraneous characteristic. He has overcome personal adversity and discrimination in his own life through his steadfast commitment to such basic principles as hard work and intellectual integrity. The National District Attorney's Association Supports Thomas (7/16/91) "Be it resolved that the National District Attorneys Association urges the Senate Judiciary Committee and the United States Senate to confirm without delay, President Bush's nomination of Judge Clarence Thomas to the United States Supreme Court." Catholic Golden Age Endorses Thomas as Next Supreme Court Justice (7/15/91) "The Board of Directors of Catholic Golden Age, the national non-profit organization of Catholics over 50, fully endorses Judge Clarence Thomas as the next U.S. Supreme Court Justice. "We have no doubt about Judge Thomas' commitment to civil rights or his ability to serve on the highest court in the land." 6 The National Tax Limitation Committee Endorses Judge Clarence Thomas for Supreme Court (7/15/91) "The NTLC normally does not endorse Judicial nominees. However, in the wake of the Missouri VS. Jenkins decision last year, when, on a 5-4 vote, the Court decreed that federal judges could order local governments to impose taxes, it has become clear that taxpayers have a decided interest in the Judiciary. "On that and other issues we believe the Court will be finer, fairer and more sensitive to the rights of individuals, including taxpayers, if Clarence Thomas has the opportunity to serve." Students for America Statement of Support for Judge Clarence Thomas (7/12/91) "We. state our support for the nomination of Judge Clarence Thomas to serve as the 106th Associate Justice of the United States Supreme Court. "Judge Thomas has served the United States with distinction for over 17 years, as a Federal Appellate Justice, Chairman of the U.S. Equal Employment Commission and as U.S. District Attorney in Missouri. "Judge Thomas embodies the values that many young Americans believe so strongly in, and the traditional American values that our forefathers embedded into the foundation of this great country. With Judge Thomas on the bench we can be assured that the Court will not legislate its decisions, but will interpret the Constitution as it is written." Polish American Congress Support Nomination of Judge Clarence Thomas (7/10/91) We. have carefully considered Judge Thomas' background and experience and we believe that he is uniquely qualified to serve on the highest court of our land. We are particularly impressed by Judge Thomas' emphasis on self-reliance, hard work and the importance of family. These values are cherished by Polish Americans. Black Republican Group Endorses Clarence Thomas Nomination (7/2/91) "The Council of 100, a national organization of Black Republicans announced its support of President Bush's nomination of Clarence Thomas for Associate Justice of the Supreme Court. An early supporter of Thomas, the Council sent a letter to President Bush prior to the public announcement requesting Bush to consider Thomas for the nomination to the nation's highest court." "Mr. Thomas is a legal scholar who having recently passed Senate confirmation 7 before his current appointment, is already well known to the Administration. Most importantly, he has the moral [fortitude], the breadth of experience, and regard for conservative construction of constitutional issues needed for a Supreme Court Justice." 8 The White House AML Office of Public Affairs ic Presidential Wire Opening Statement By President Bush Announcing The Nomination Of Judge Clarence Thomas To The Supreme Court "I am very pleased to annóunce that I will nominate Judge Clarence Thomas to serve as Associate Justice of the United States Supreme Court. Clarence Thomas was my first appointee to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia, where he served for over a year. And I believe he'll be a great justice. He's the best person for this position. Judge Thomas compiled an excellent record at Holy Cross. He graduated from Yale Law School and served with distinction in the Missouri Attorney General's Office in the Reagan-Bush administration and in our administration -- my administration. He's a native of Pinpoint, near Savannah, Georgia, where he was raised by his grandparents. His background includes a strong emphasis on education as the key to a better life. And he attended rigorous Catholic schools where he excelled. After spending a year at the Immaculate Conception Seminary in Conception Junction, Missouri, Clarence transferred to Holy Cross College in Worcester, where he supported himself through loans and scholarships and jobs, and graduated with honors in 1971. After graduation from Yale Law School, he worked for then Missouri Attorney General John Danforth, and spent two and a half years litigating cases of all descriptions. In 1977, Judge Thomas practiced law in the private sector, and in 1979, he rejoined Senator Danforth as a legislative assistant in the U.S. Senate. In 1981, President Reagan appointed him Assistant Secretary for Civil Rights in the Department of Education. From 1982 to 1990, he served as President Reagan's Chairman of the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission. And I appointed him to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia in 1990. I have followed this man's career for some time, and he has excelled in everything that he has attempted. He is a delightful and warm, intelligent person who has great empathy and a wonderful sense of humor. He's also 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. Judge Thomas' life is a model for all Americans, and he's earned the right to sit on this nation's highest court. And I am very proud, indeed, to nominate him for this position, and I trust that the Senate will confirm this able man promptly." Kennebunkport, Maine July 1, 1991 For more information, please contact the White House Office of Public Affairs at 202/456-2483. OF THE 5 UNITED The White House 301 Office of Public Affairs 10 Administration Wire EXCERPTS FROM VICE PRESIDENT QUAYLE'S PREPARED SPEECH TO THE ASSOCIATION FOR A BETTER NEW YORK New York City July 12, 1991 "I certainly am proud to say that I know Judge Thomas, and have for some years. By now, Americans everywhere are familiar with Judge Thomas's background. He was born in poverty 43 years ago, and raised by his hardworking grandparents. His upbringing was one of strong values: faith, compassion, hard work, self- reliance. "Judge Thomas excelled in high school, at Holy Cross College, and Yale Law School. He has served in state government, and in all three branches of the federal government. And he has never forgotten his roots, or the aspirations of less fortunate Americans. In his words, '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.' "Today Judge Thomas sits on the second highest court in the land -- the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit. The Senate confirmed him last year, with only two senators in opposition. On top of that, Judge Thomas was confirmed by the Senate three other times in the 1980s for positions in the executive branch. "Unfortunately, some people are ignoring Judge Thomas's credentials, his character, and his successful life. Instead, because they don't believe he shares their political views, they've set out to attack him personally. "The long knives have been drawn. It will be a bitter, tough, but successful confirmation fight." "The confirmation process won't be easy for Judge Thomas. But he's been through tough times before. Remember: he started at the very bottom in the segregated south. "Some years back, Judge Thomas considered resigning as Chairman of the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission when his opponents were attacking him. He went to his grandfather for advice. And his grandfather told him to 'stick up for what you believe in.' That, I am sure, is what Judge Thomas will do. And I believe he will be confirmed." For more information, please contact the Office of Public Affairs at 202/456-2483. 07/17/91 DRAFT/SUGGESTED SPEECH INSERT In Judge Thomas, President Bush has picked a jurist who is deeply concerned with the individual rights of all people. I'm please to note that Senator Sam Nunn has announced he'll be lending his support to Judge Thomas. This is an important endorsement and reflects the broad base of support Judge Thomas has received since the President announced his appointment just two weeks ago. Judge Thomas outlined his commitment to minorities best himself, when he 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." 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." -2- Clarence Thomas will bring a new perspective to the court. This is a man born to a humble and poor family who has risen to extraordinary heights in government, and he is an inspiration to all Americans. As a youth, Clarence Thomas worked his way through school, helping his grandfather in his delivery business. His grandparents were disciplined, deeply religious people who instilled the values of hard work, compassion, and self-reliance in their grandson, who has applied those values throughout his life. Judge Clarence Thomas has worked in all three branches of government and has already been confirmed by the Senate four 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. This whole confirmation process will be another struggle for Clarence Thomas. But this is a man who has stood up to adversity in the past and overcome it. I believe he will be confirmed again, this time to a lifetime appointment to the highest court in the land. 07/16/91 JUDGE CLARENCE THOMAS CHAIRMAN OF THE EQUAL EMPLOYMENT OPPORTUNITY COMMISSION "The EEOC is Thriving" "Under the quiet but persistent leadership of Chairman Clarence Thomas, the number of cases processed has gone from 50,935 in fiscal 1982 to 66,305 last year." -- Washington Post Editorial August 1, 1987 In 1982 Clarence Thomas was appointed Chairman of the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) ; he was reappointed in 1986 and led the agency until he was named to the federal bench in 1990. The EEOC, an agency that employs 2,850 people and has an annual budget of $202 million, enforces Title VII of the Civil Rights act of 1964, which prohibits discrimination based on race, color, religion, sex, or national origin; the Equal Pay Act; the Age Discrimination in Employment Act; and the Americans with Disabilities Act. Judge Thomas compiled an outstanding record at the EEOC. He revitalized the agency, emphasizing its law enforcement mission. Thomas sought tougher penalties against discriminatory businesses and instituted policies that protect the rights of American workers and expand opportunities for women, older Americans and minorities. Under Thomas, the EEOC vigorously enforced laws against religious discrimination. Thomas' efforts were recognized with the Union of Orthodox Jewish Congregations of America's annual Humanitarian Award for his "commitment to the rights of all Americans to live free from discrimination based on race, religion, or national origin. The EEOC achieved a remarkable record under the leadership of Judge Clarence Thomas. Under Thomas, the Commission: discrimination; secured over a billion dollars in relief for victims of --- filed more than 3,000 legal actions in U.S. District Courts during his tenure. In 1983, the Commission filed 195 lawsuits, by 1990 that annual figure had more than tripled to 640; --- instituted policies to ensure that every charge filed is fully investigated and litigated with full relief sought for victims of discrimination; Page Two - EEOC restructured the systemic/pattern and practice program. In 1981 the Commission had only a handful of broad pattern and practice cases in litigation; in 1988, 103 cases were investigated and 16 were in active litigation. of the $131 million in relief obtained in FY 1988, over $48 million was awarded in large class action/pattern practice cases; established outreach programs for previously underserved areas and for small and medium-sized employers; professionalized the agency and established a management infrastructure by taking a finance system the General Accounting Office had reported was in shambles and implemented a sound financial management system that in 1984, met GAO's standards for the first time; transformed a work environment the Office of Personnel Management described as "beset by acrimony, improper employee conduct, poor performance and favoritism" and a case processing system that GAO concluded was in a state of "complete chaos" to an agency which the Office of Management and Budget commended for improved management quality. Under Clarence Thomas' leadership the EEOC vigorously enforced the Age Discrimination in Employment Act (ADEA) Under Thomas the EEOC championed the rights of older workers by: discrimination; fully investigating and prosecuting charges of age securing a total of $389.7 million in benefits under the ADEA from 1982 - 1990; filing 781 ADEA lawsuits from 1982 - 1990; filing pattern and practice/class action lawsuits that represented annually between one-third and three- fourths total ADEA lawsuits; and approving policies to mandate pension accrual for employees working past normal retirement age; and establishing standards to protect older workers who wished to waive their ADEA rights in return for enhanced (often collectively bargained) separation benefits. That rule was suspended by the Congress, but ultimately codified in the Older Workers Protection Act. THE SIDENT OF THE UNITED The White House Office of Public Affairs OF THE STATES Administration Wire July 17, 1991 Supreme Court Nominee Judge Clarence Thomas Excerpts from remarks by EPA Administrator William Reilly to the National Association of Counties on July 16, 1991 "This nominee has a life story that has provided him with a distinctive perspective on our history, its problems and its possibilities. He has a philosophy which is serious and considered and deserves a hearing by the open-minded. "And he has character that shows fiercely in his public recognition of the role others have played in his success. You know, if ever there was an individual who might reasonably have been expected to lay claim to the title, "self-made man," it is Clarence Thomas. "But he does not claim to have made it alone. He recognizes his grand parents, his mother and his teachers for having shaped his values, instilled discipline and taught him the value of hard work. "Now, as he is pilloried for his philosophy and even for his religion, it strikes me that there is a rush to judgement that preempts the confirmation process. One wonders whether there will be an open mind anywhere when the Senate finally gets around to asking detailed questions of Clarence Thomas. "The President, Judge Thomas and the country all deserve better." Excerpts from remarks by Transportation Secretary Samuel K. Skinner to the Federal Bar Association on July 12, 1991 "As lawyers, the issue most on our lips today is the vacancy on the Supreme Court left by the retirement of Thurgood Marshall." "Judge Thomas came up the hard way. He was born and raised in a house that didn't have electricity or indoor plumbing. He spent much of his youth working on his grandfather's farm, and on an oil truck. His father left home when young Clarence was jüst a toddler. Fortunately for Clarence, his grandfather scraped together enough money to enroll him in a Catholic school, and he went on to graduate from Holy Cross and Yale Law School." "When Judge Thomas was a child, segregation was sanctioned in Georgia, and he experienced all the indignities that came with it: separate lunch counters, separate bathrooms, separate schools, even separate libraries." Administration Wire July 17, 1991 Page 2 "...I did not originally intend to discuss judicial philosophy, but I can't help but mention that Judge Thomas is being criticized because he won't be a judicial activist in the tradition of Justice Marshall, and for believing in judicial restraint. What's wrong with that?" "...I believe strongly, as does the President, that the founding Fathers reserved political activism for Congress and the political process. Judge Thomas is a strict constructionist, and as such, I believe his political view, whatever they may be, will not influence his judicial decisions. We cannot know, and should not predict, how Justice Thomas will rule on arguments brought before the Court. If the judge were to ask my advice on how to handle questions about his philosophy -- which he hasn't -- I would encourage him to repeat something Abraham Lincoln once wrote: 'I have no eyes but constitutional eyes." For more information, please contact the Office of Public Affairs at 202/456-2483. OFFICE OF THE VICE PRESIDENT Delivered Wednesday, July 17, 1991 -- Manchester, New Hampshire EXCERPTS FROM PREPARED REMARKS BY THE VICE PRESIDENT GREATER MANCHESTER CHAMBER OF COMMERCE BREAKFAST HOLIDAY INN, MANCHESTER, NEW HAMPSHIRE All of us know the value of education. And I'll bet everybody in this room remembers the teachers that really got to them -- the teachers that changed their lives. Remember who Judge Clarence Thomas thanked? The nuns at his school. They cared, and they helped give him a direction in life. I believe Judge Thomas is a living example of the value of education -- and the American dream. He's our next Supreme Court Justice -- President George Bush's second outstanding nominee. The first was Justice David Souter, of Weare, New Hampshire. In the past year, Justice Souter has shown himself to be a very able and distinguished member of the Court -- sensible and even-handed. But you'll remember that some special interest groups lined up to oppose him. It was politics then, and it's politics now. You have some people lining up against Judge Thomas without even looking at his credentials, his character, and his experiences in life. Instead, because they don't believe he shares their political views, they've set out to attack him personally. I am proud to say that I know Judge Thomas, and have for some years. In fact, he was in my office the day before yesterday. He gave me a copy of a recent edition of JET, a popular magazine that he remembers his grandparents reading years ago. And he was very touched by the warm article about his lifetime of achievement. Judge Thomas was equally touched by the recent poll results in USA Today, which showed that more than half of all black Americans support him. They're proud of him, and they share his values: faith, compassion, hard work, and self-reliance. Today Judge Thomas sits on America's second highest court - - the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit. He was confirmed last year -- with only two senators in opposition. And he was confirmed three other times in the 1980s for positions in the executive branch. That's four Senate confirmations -- but, sadly, that doesn't matter to those lining up against him. And they've got their long knives ready. In recent days we've gotten a preview of the way the critics 2 want to fight this nomination. Columnist Carl Rowan said that "if you gave Thomas a little flour on his face, you'd think you had David Duke talking." One Congressman said that "a black conservative is a contradiction in terms." A leader of the National Organization for Women said, "We're going to 'Bork' him. We need to kill him politically." Even some people at distinguished law schools have gone overboard in fighting Judge Thomas. That's especially true at a certain university over in Massachusetts. Professor Laurence Tribe suggested in Monday's New York Times that Judge Thomas might not believe women have any legal rights. How's that for hysteria? And Tribe's colleague Derrick Bell said that Judge Thomas "looks black" but "thinks white." Another professor from Washington argued the other day that "blackness" means more than just being black. According to this professor, it means you have to think a certain way -- and Clarence Thomas apparently doesn't measure up. There is an assumption in some quarters that black Americans shouldn't be allowed to think for themselves. But I think Clarence Thomas's mother refuted this best : "Black people don't have to think alike, they don't have to look alike, they don't have to talk alike. And that Clarence, he always did have a mind of his own." And so do all Americans. They have minds of their own, and they are fair. I served in the Senate for eight years; I believe my former colleagues will be fair to Judge Thomas. But some others are not being fair. And I believe the attacks, the insults, and the attempts to impose "racially correct thinking" ought to be rejected and denounced by every single Senator. The confirmation process won't be easy for Judge Thomas. But he's been through tough times before. Remember: he started at the very, very bottom in the segregated South. Some years back, Judge Thomas considered resigning as Chairman of the EEOC when his opponents were attacking him. He went to his grandfather for advice. And his grandfather answered: "Stick up for what you believe in." I know that's something that sounds familiar to you, because it's a way of life here in New Hampshire. And there's no better motto for every American. # # # The New York Times Climb the Jagged Mountain DATE: 7/17/91 PAGE: A21 watched as others have jumped effects of prejudice by doing all they Following are excerpts from a quickly at the opportunity to make could do in spite of this obstacle. some way, with the help of God. make commencement speech that Clarence excuses for black Americans. It is it. Thomas. President Bush's nominee said that blacks cannot start busi- hey could still send to the Supreme Court, gave at Savan- nesses because of discrimination. But nah State College on June 9. 1985. I remember businesses on East Broad and West Broad that were run T their children to school. They could still respect and help each By Clarence Thomas in spite of bigotry. It is said that we other. They could still can't learn because of bigotry. But I moderate their use of know for a fact that tens of thousands alcohol. They could still be decent, grew up here in Savannah. I of blacks were educated at historical- law-abiding citizens. I was born not far from here (in ly black colleges, in spite of discrimi- I had the benefit of people who Pinpoint). I am a child of nation. We learned to read in spite of knew they had to walk a straighter those marshes, a son of this segregated libraries. We built homes line, climb a taller mountain and car- soil. I am a descendant of the in spite of segregated neighborhoods. ry a heavier load. They took all that slaves whose labors made the We learned how to play basketball segregation and prejudice would al- dark soil of the South productive. I (and did we ever learn!), even though low them and at the same time fought am the great-great-grandson of a we couldn't go to the N.B.A. to remove these awful barriers. freed slave, whose enslavement con- You all have a much tougher road tinued after my birth. I am the prod- We have lost something. We look to travel. Not only do you have to uct of hatred and love - the hatred of for role models in all the wrong contend with the ever-present big- the social and political structure places. We refuse to reach back in our otry, you must do so with a recent which dominated the segregated, not too distant past for the lessons tradition that almost requires you to hate-filled city of my youth, and the and values we need to carry us into wallow in excuses. You now have a love of some people - my mother, the uncertain future. We ignore what popular national rhetoric which says my grandparents, my neighbors and has permitted blacks in this country that you can't learn because of rac- relatives - who said by their actions, to survive the brutality of slavery and ism, you can't raise the babies you "You can make it, but first you must the bitter rejection of segregation. We make because of racism, you can't endure." overlook the reality of positive values get up in the mornings because of You can survive, but first you must and run to the mirage of promises, racism. You commit crimes because endure. You can live, but first you visions and dreams. of racism. Unlike me, you must not must endure. You must endure the I dare not come to this city, which only overcome the repressiveness of unfairness. You must endure the ha- only two decades ago clung so tena- racism, you must also overcome the tred. You must endure the bigotry. ciously to segregation, bigotry and lure of excuses. You have twice the You must endure the segregation. Jim Crowism, to convince you of the job I had. You must endure the indignities. fairness of this society. My memory Do not be lured by sirens and pur- I stand before you as one who had is too precise, my recollection too veyors of misery who profit from the same beginning as yourselves - keen, to venture down that path of constantly regurgitating all that is as one who has walked a little farther self-delusion. I am not blind to our wrong with black Americans and down the road, climbed a little higher history - nor do I turn a deaf ear to blaming these problems on others. Do up the mountain. I come back to you, the pleas and cries of black Ameri- not succumb to this temptation of who must now travel this road and cans. Often I must struggle to contain always blaming others. climb this jagged, steep mountain y outrage at what has happened to Do not become obsessed with all that lies ahead. I return as a messen- ack Americans - what continues to that is wrong with our race. Rather, ger - a front-runner, a scout. What ppen - what we let happen and become obsessed with looking for so- lies ahead of you is even tougher than hat we do to ourselves. lutions to our problems. Be tolerant of what is now behind you. If I let myself go, I would rage in all positive ideas; their number is That mean, callous world out there e words of Frederick Douglass: much smaller than the countless is still very much filled with discrimi- At a time like this, scorching irony, number of problems to be solved. We nation. It still holds out a different life ot convincing argument, is needed. need all the hope we can get. for those who do not happen to be the h! Had I the ability, and could reach Most importantly, draw on that right race or the right sex. It is a le nation's ear, I would today pour great lesson and those positive role world in which the "haves" continue ut a fiery stream of biting ridicule, models who have gone down this road to reap more dividends than the lasting reproach, withering sarcasm before us. We are badgered and "have-nots." nd stern rebuke. For it is not light pushed by our friends and peers to do You will enter a world in which hat is needed, but fire; it is not the unlike our parents and grandparents more than one-half of all black chil- entle shower, but thunder. We need - we are told not to be old-fashioned. dren are born primarily to youthful ne storm, the whirlwind and the But they have weathered the storm. mothers and out of wedlock. You will arthquake."---- It is up to us now to learn how. enter a world in which the black teen- I often hear rosy platitudes about Countless hours of research are spent age unemployment rate as always is his country - much of which is true. to determine why blacks fail or why more than double that of white teen- But how are we black Americans to we commit crimes. Why can't we agers. Any discrimination, like sharp eel when we have so little in a land spend a few hours learning how those turns in a road, becomes critical be- with so much? How Is black America closest to us have survived and cause of the tremendous speed at , respond to the celebration of the helped us get this far? which we are traveling into the high- onders of this great nation? As your fr ont-runner, I have gone tech world of a service economy. In 1964, when I entered the semi- There is a tendency among young, ahead and taken a long, hard look. I ary, I was the only black in my class upwardly mobile, intelligent minor- nd one of two in the school. A year have seen two roads from my perch a ities to forget. We forget the sweat of ter, I was the only one in the school. few humble feet above the madding our forefathers. We forget the blood crowd. On the first, a race of people is ot a day passed that I was not of the marchers, the prayers and ricked by prejudice. rushing mindlessly down a highway hope of our race. We forget who But I had an advantage over black of sweet, intoxicating destruction, with all its brought us into this world. We over- bright lights and udents and kids today. I had never grand look who put food in our mouths and promises constructed by social scien- eard any excuses made. Nor had I tists and clothes on our backs. We forget com- politicians. To the side, there en my role models take comfort in xcuses. The women who worked in leading through used, the valley overgrown of life road with is a seldom mitment to excellence. We procreate with pleasure and retreat from the nose Ritchens and waited on the bus all its pitfalls and obstacles. It is the responsibilities of the babies we new it was prejudice which caused road the old-fashioned produce. road - their plight, but that didn't stop them traveled by those We subdue, we seduce, but we don't who endured slav- from working. respect ourselves, our women, our ery, who endured Jim Crowism, who My grandfather knew why his busi- babies. How do we expect a race that endured hatred. It is the road that has been thrown into the gutter of ness didn't wasn't him more from successful, but that 2 in might reward hard work and disci- stop getting up at socio-economic indicators to rise pline, that the might reward morning intelligence, to carry ice, wood and that might be fair above these humiliating circum- and fuel oil. Sure, it provide they knew was bad. equal But stances if we hide from responsibility opportunity. there are no They knew all too well that they were guaran- tees. for our own destiny? held back by prejudice. But they The truth of the matter is we have You must choose. The lure of the become more interested in designer fought weren't discrimination pinned down under by it. W. They highway is seductive and enticing. But the jeans and break dancing than we are destruction is certain. To Law [a Georgia civil rights leader] and the N.A.A.C.P. Equally Impor- is hard and difficult, hope and but opportuni- there is a travel the road of in obligations and responsibilities. Over the past 15 years, I have tant, they fought against the awful chance that you might somehow, PAGE 36.49 The New York Times TUESDAY, JULY 16, 1991 Court Nominee Defied Labels As Head of Job-Rights Panel By ROBERT PEAR WASHINGTON, July 15 - As head of the Federal agency responsible for en- adopted many policies to increase the His tone changed after President forcing the laws against job discrimi- "certainty and predictability" of its Labor unions and women's groups Reagan won re-election by a landslide nation, Clarence Thomas was often at law enforcement. Annual statistics embraced comparable worth as a way in 1984. He indicated that the commis- war with other Reagan Administration compiled by the commission show that to reduce the differences in pay be- sion and the Administration were more the number of lawsuits filed by the tween jobs held mainly by women, like officials, with members of Congress, likely to speak with one voice. He said agency rose sharply during his tenure, nursing and secretarial work, and with civil rights groups and with him- that numerical goals and timetables to 640 in the fiscal year 1990 from 241 in those held mainly by men, like truck self. were ineffective, and that the commis- 1982. But there was no increase in driving and warehouse work, which Judge Thomas, President Bush's sion had overused statistical dispart- monetary benefits secured for the vic- tend to pay more. nominee for the Supreme Court, was ties as evidence of discrimination. In time of discrimination. But in a 1985 case, Mr. Thomas said chairman of the Equal Employment October 1985, the agency's general Other Reagan Administration offi- such pay disparities, by themselves, Opportunity Commission from May counsel told staff lawyers not to pro- cials crusaded against the use of nu- did not prove a violation of Federal pose settlements including goals and 1982 to March 1990, longer than any of merical goals for hiring blacks, women law. "Congress never authorized the timetables. Government to take on wholesale re- his predecessors. A review of agency and Hispanic Americans; he shunned In a speech in February 1986, Mr. files for that period shows that he ex- the flamboyant, confrontational tactics structuring of wages that were set by Thomas said preferences based on of officials like William Bradford non-sex-based decisions of employers, pressed complex, continually chang- race or ethnic origin were "a ticking Reynolds of the Justice Department. by collective bargaining or by the mar- ing. often contradictory views, particu- time bomb" that would "hasten the "We have a job to do," be often said, ketplace," he said. larly on questions of affirmative ac- socio-economic demise of black Amer- tion. adding that he was "tired of rhetoric The E.E.O.C. chairman's first objec- icans." But at the confirmation hearing about quotas, about affirmative ac- tive was to solve severe management for his second term, he promised LA As a member of Ronald Reagan's tion." problems at the commission, on the abide by Supreme Court decisions enH transition team in 1980, he had written In a 1985 speech, Mr. Thomas said, theory that "there was absolutely no dorsing the use of numerical goals. a memorandum challenging affirma- "My approach to doing my job has way we could take care of the public's "Whatever reservations I have are business If we couldn't take care of our tive action. But as commission chair- been more methodical, cautious and purely personal," he testified. own." He said he found financial man in 1983, be defended the use of DU- certainly less noisy and less well-publi- "They're subversive literature now." records in chaotic condition and said merical hiring goals in several cele- cized than others." Perhaps remem- In the spring of 1967, in an article in brated cases. bering his days as a seminary student, there was too much emphasis on set- The Yale Law and Policy Review, Mr. he said he had the personality and style ting cases quickly, with little or no in- Thomas affirmed his "personal dis- He abruptly switched his public posi- of "a monastic recluse." vestigation, to eliminate a big backlog. agreement with the Court's approval of He said he tried to establish the com- tion after the 1984 election and assailed Judge Thomas contends that goals numerical remedies." such remedies for the next 20 months. and quotas, a subject of endless politi- Since 1979, the commission has been mission's "credibility as a law enforce- Then in July 1986, at a confirmation cal debate, "don't amount to a hill of responsible for enforcing the Age Dis- ment agency." contending that it had hearing for his second term on the beans" in practice, as he put It in a 1986 been a forum for "social activism" and crimination in Employment Act, which meeting with reporters, because they protects people who are at least 40 arcane legal theories under some of his commission, he said the agency would are rarely appropriate in cases predecessors. years old. Mr. Thomas has said "bad once again advocate the use of goals brought before the commission. management" was responsible for the In its zeal to challenge a broad pat- and timetables, despite his personal op- In his memorandum for the transi- agency's failure to act on thousands of term or practice of discrimination, the position to them. tion team in December 1980, he said the complaints from older workers within chairman said, the commission some- Trying to elucidate his shifting views commission had gone too far in encour- the two-year statute of limitations. times overlooked Individual "Nesh- aging affirmative action and should re- and-blood victims" of discrimination on affirmative action, and acknowledg- In a separate case, the commission ing his personal reservations, the examine its policy. But in early 1983, he delayed action on rules requiring em- who came 10 its offices seeking help. He chairman once told a Congressional strongly supported an affirmative ac- ployers to make pension contributions declared that "every case brought to hearing, "I'll abide by the Supreme tion plan under which the New Orleans the E.E.O.C., no matter how small, for employees who work beyond the Court, whether I like it or not." Police Department was required. to age of 65. Federal officials conceded should be fully investigated and litigat- promote equal numbers of blacks and that the delay could cost older workers ed, If necessary," to obtain jobs and If confirmed for a seat on the High back pay for victims. whites until blacks accounted for 50 $450 million a year in lost benefits. Court, Judge Thomas would shape the In 1964, in a major policy change, the percent of the officers at every rank. Ruling on a lawsuit filed here by the law by which others must abide. It is by The Justice Department adamantly commission decided to consider filing a American Association of Retired Per- lawsuit in every case in which its staff no means certain that his judicial rul- opposed those goals, telling a Federal suns, Judge Harold H. Greene of United had found discrimination and tried un- ings would echo his views from the appeals court that they were illegal. States District Court declared in 1967 world of politics and policy. But for Echoing the concerns of civil rights that the delay was "entirely unjustified successfully to persuade the employer those searching for clues to his likely groups, Mr. Thomas complained in and unlawful.' He said the commission to correct the problem. Mr. Thomas often asserted that the course on the Court, his record at the April 1983 that the Justice Depart- itself had repeatedly acknowledged ment's position would "invalidate Innu- over the previous seven years that commission was getting record commission yields many clues to what amounts of money for victims of dis- merable conciliation agreements, con- be might do. such contributions were required by sent decrees and adjudicated decrees crimination through lawsuks, settle- the age discrimination law. "That Judge Thomas, who has sat on the to which the commission is a party, as ments and conciliation. But the agen- agency has at best been slothful, at United States Court of Appeals for the well as the commission's own pub- cy's data show such monetary benefits worst deceptive to the public," the were lower in 1989 and 1990 than in District of Columbia Circuit since lished guidelines regarding appropri- judge said. early 1990, declines to discuss his ate affirmative action." At a Senate hearing six months later, 1982. (The figures were $128.7 million, $98.9 million and $134.7 million, respec- record with reporters, but the commis- The commission had drafted a legal Mr. Thomas defended himself, saying, sion's files, including some of his brief in the New Orleans case, but de- "To suggest that we are derelict in our lively, with no adjustment of inflation." speeches and correspondence, suggest cided, under pressure from the White duties is an ad hominem attack that In 1988, the General Accounting Of- be was often torn by conflicts inside House, not to file it with the court. Mr. fice, an auditing arm of Congress, said impugns my integrity and the agen- himself and with others. Thomas testified at a Congressional cy's." the commission was still closing many For Instance, be said the "single hearing in May 1983 that his agency cases without full investigations. m The commission under Clarence many cases closed with no finding of most devastating event" of his tenure would continue pressing for affirma- Thomas filed many lawsuits charging discrimination, "critical evidence was was the commission's failure to pursue tive action, including "race-conscious that companies had discriminated not verified" and "relevant witnesses thousands of age-discrimination com- relief" of the type abhorred by the Jus- against women in violation of a 1963 were not interviewed," the auditors re- plaints in a timely manner. He said the tice Department. law that requires equal pay for equal ported. agency's performance was "ember- In October 1983, the commission work. But he resisted the doctrine of Mr. Thomas disputed the criticism, rassing and inexcusable," and at- signed a landmark agreement with the "comparable worth," which holds that saying at the time that the report tributed the lapses in part to manage- General Motors Corporation setting men and women should be paid the "trivializes civil rights enforcement to ment problems in district offices. Con- numerical goals for the hiring, training same for different jobs If the jobs have a level commensurate with widget- gress eventually passed a law extend- and promoting of thousands of blacks, the same intrinsic value. making." ing the statute of limitations for vic- women and Hispanic people. In July time of age bias who would otherwise 1984, Mr. Thomas needled the Justice have lost the right to sue employers. Department, saying that It was widely He had mixed results in his effort to perceived as having "a negative rather Improve the internal management of than a positive agenda on civil rights." the commission, which be said was "teetering on the brink of self-destruc- tion" when he took office. The agency EDITORIAL SUPPORT FOR JUDGE CLARENCE THOMAS "The Constitution is vague about the Senate's role in dealing with presidential nominations to the Supreme Court. " "They [U.S. Senators] can and should examine his public record, including his judicial opinions and other writings." "As they do so most will be pleased -- but some undoubtedly will be disappointed -- to find a jurist who loves America. "I have felt the pain of racism, as much as anyone else,' he said a few years ago. 'Yet I am wild about the Constitution and the Declaration [of Independence]. I believe in the American proposition, the American dream, because I've seen it in my own life. I "Such a man can't be insensitive or indifferent or recklessly ideological. Such a man could be a distinguished justice." July 7, 1991 The Cincinnati Enquirer THE CINCINNATI ENQUIRER 57 Sunday. July 7. 1991 62 Judge Thomas Senators will hurt themselves if they ignore propriety The Constitution is vague about the come up in the future." Senate's role in dealing with presiden- Wise heads, such as Senators Spec- tial nominations to the Supreme ter and Hatch, however. are unlikely Court. It simply requires that the to prevail. And Judge Thomas is prob- Senate confirm appointments to the ably going to find himself in the shoes federal judiciary. As the Senate and its of a candidate for the Hamilton Coun- Judiciary Committee prepare ty Municipal Court who is to pass on President Bush's asked during the campaign nomination of Judge Clar- what he's going to do about ence Thomas to fill the seat drunk drivers. The prudent vacated by the retirement of respond that they will uphold Justice Thurgood Marshall. law: the grandstanders it's clear that some senators promise to throw the book at have an extraordinary view them. of their function. If the sena- The Senate and the nation tors go beyond propriety in needn't buy a pig in a poke. their forthcoming inquiry in- Judge Thomas They can and should ask to Judge Thomas' qualifica- Judge Thomas about his judi- tions, they risk injuring themiselves cial philosophy. They should examine more than they injure Judge Thomas. Ohio's Sen. Howard Metzenbaum, his public record, including his judicial for one, is determined to learn how opinions and his other writings. Ludge Thomas might rule on an abor- As they do so most will be pleased tion case. - but some undoubtedly will be dis- Sen. Ratrick Leahy, D-Vt., is deter- appointed - to find a jurist who loves mined to ask Judge Thomas. "What do America. you think of settled law?" "I have felt the pain of racism. as Other members of the Judiciary much as anyone else," he said a few Committee seem appalled by the up- years ago. "Yet I am wild about the coming inquisition. Said Sen. Arlen Constitution and the Declaration [of Specter. R-Pa., "I do not think it is Independence]. I believe in the appropriate to ask a nominee the American proposition, the American ultimate question as to how he is dream. because I've seen it in my own going to decide a specific case." life." Adds Sen. Orrin Hatch. R-Utah. Such a man can't be insensitive or "Literally nobody nominated for the indifferent or recklessly ideological. Supreme Court should give his or her Such a man could be a distinguished views with regard to cases that might justice. COMMENTS IN SUPPORT OF JUDGE CLARENCE THOMAS "The Clarence Thomas I know is a self-made man who has worked enormously hard to get where he is today. He will serve the Supreme Court well. through his own strength of character, perseverance and strong belief in the American dream. I should know -- I have known him for almost 20 years.' "While some in the civil rights movement contend that they are not convinced that Mr. Thomas is the right choice, I say he is. I think the main issues should be his ability to interpret the law fairly, follow it through and judge with compassion. There is no doubt that Clarence Thomas will be a fair and equitable Supreme Court justice. "President Bush could not have made a more sound decision than to nominate Clarence Thomas for the next Supreme Court justice." Alphonso Jackson, The Dallas Morning News, July 14, 1991 "The Clarence Thomas I know is a caring, decent, honest, bright, good-humored, modest and thoughtful father, husband and public servant who has already come farther in 43 years than most of us will in a lifetime." "People throughout the agency [Equal Employment Opportunity Commission] sing Thomas's praises -- his dedication, his professional standards, his extraordinary sensitivity to and support of the'little people, and his inspiration to employees at all levels. " Allen Moore, The Washington Post, July 16, 1991 "For too long, debate in the United States has been dominated by self-appointed group spokesmen. Thomas' presence on the high court would open debate by focusing new attention on individuals who don't think like their group 'leaders' say they should, and then emboldening them to become part of the political process. "The liberals should be apprehensive; with more issues returned to the American people to be decided through democratic means, and the political process opened up to debate from new and different voices, many liberals will find themselves without 'groups' to speak for." Betsy Hart, The Evening Sun, July 12, 1991 "Just as Justice Marshall was the man for his time, leading the essential charge for civil rights for black Americans in a nation where racial discrimination was official policy, so now Judge Thomas is the right man for this time, when official policies of racial preference -- promoted in part by Justice Marshall -- threaten the essential fabric of racial integration and harmony. If "Judge Thomas stands as living proof that in a colorblind society that the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King preached, even the poorest black Americans can rise by the sheer quality and character of his life, out of a Savannah, Ga., sharecropper neighborhood to the highest court in the land. He has also vindicated Thurgood Marshall's original struggle for equality before the law. His appointment has breathtaking symbolic as well as substantial value. Just as Thurgood Marshall was a man for his time, CLarence Thomas appears to be heaven-sent for this one." Warren Brooks, The Washington Times, July 12, 1991 DALLAS MORNING NEWS, July 14, 1991 My friendship with Thomas tells me he is a good choice While thumbing almost 20 years. robe and gavel, and oversimplified sp through newspa- Clarence and I were introduced in the ulations of what he might do once in pers and listening early 70s by John C. Danforth, then the fice. to television since Missouri attorney general and now the Some are saying Mr. Thomas has President Bush state's senior U.S. senator. Since that lowed himself to be used as an inst nominated Clar- time, he and I have become good friends. ment to push African-Americans by ence Thomas to the Most of our earlier moments together from the fight for racial justice; [ E ALPHONSO U.S. Supreme Court, were spent in St. Louis with our good never. The Clarence Thomas I know JACKSON I have been quite friend Larry Thompson, now a partner at members the pain of discrimination. offended by the un. King & Spalding in Atlanta. From our many private and put warranted labeling, Later, our political careers took us to discussions, I recall him saying, "I outrageons charges and ludicrous judg- Washington, where Clarence became never forget the agony of discriminat ments made against the appeals court chairman of the federal Equal Employ- - the humiliation of prejudice. Throt judge. ment Opportunity Commission and I summer work at the New Haven Le The Clarence Thomas 1 know is a self- headed the district's Department of Pub- Assistance Clinic, under 8 grant from made man who has worked enormously lic and Assisted Housing. There we spent Law Students' Civil Rights Resea hard to get where he is today. He will countless hours debating politics and Council, I did not forget. Through H serve the Supreme Court well. Not disagreeing on issues; but, through the Cross and Yale, I did not forget. As as through "Uncle Toming," buying his way years, we remained loyal friends and tant attorney general and assistant se to the top or being a "token," as some philosophically in tune. tary, I did not forget. As chairman of have suggested; but through his own That is why I am convinced the allega- EEOC, I cannot and will not forget." strength of character, perseverance and tions being made against Clarence Tho- Others are saying Mr. Thomas opp strong belief in the American dream. 1 mas are merely quick and simplistic affirmative action and does not sup| should know - I have known him for judgments of the real man behind the civil rights. I say the Clarence Thom know strongly supports civil rights. In more sound decision than to nominate an appearance at Holy Cross College, I Clarence Thomas for the next Supreme was proud to hear him say: Court justice. Mr. Thomas is a man who "My grandparents, who raised me, are believes that justice must be colorblind, perfect examples of what discrimination just as the late Dr. Martin Luther King can do. No matter what efforts they believed when he, during the march on made, race was a roadblock to taking full Washington in 1964, stated that one day, advantage of the benefits of this country. be hoped that his children would be As a result of living through this experi- judged by the content of their character, ence and other experiences, I have not the color of their skin. strong views about civil rights. Many of The Clarence Thomas I know is capa- us have walked through doors opened by ble, competent and compassionate. His the civil rights leaders; now you must credentials speak for themselves and are see that others do the same." above reproach. r firmly believe he will While some in the civil rights move- be capable of recognizing racism when it ment contend that they are not con- comes before him on the Supreme Court, vinced that Mr. Thomas is the right competent to fairly judge critical issues choice, I say he is. I think the main issues and compassionate to rule on each case should be his ability to interpret the law according to facts, not politics. fairly, follow it through and judge with Isn't that what we really want from a compassion. There is no doubt in my Supreme Court justice? mind that Clarence Thomas will be a fair and equitable Supreme Court justice. Alphonso Jackson is executive director President Bush could not have made 1 of the Dallas Housing Authority. THE WASHINGTON POST, July 16, 1991 Allen Moore The Clarence Thomas I Know I have been reading and hearing a lot about his selection for other jobs along the way. He has when he left the seminary almost 25 years as Clarence Thomas these days. Some of it makes never denied his indebtedness to, or admiration In recent years, he has attended a Method me wonder: Can this be the same Clarence for, those, such as Justice Thurgood Marshall, church, a Christian church and, most recently, Thomas who worked for me in Jack Danforth's who helped open such doors. He does not blindly Episcopal church. office 12 years ago and has been my friend ever oppose the notion of taking race into consider- I don't know how he feels about abortion, bt since? ation for hiring, promotion or admissions deci- would be very surprised if he didn't have an op The man I read about has been called an sions. What he does oppose are rigid numerical mind on Roe a Wade. Many liberals and cons "arch-conservative" who has "forgotten where he goals and quotas, which he considers divisive and vatives on both sides of the abortion ise came from," who believes "affirmative action is unfair. acknowledge the vulnerability of that decision like heroin," whose seven years as chairman of When he gets a chance to fully explain his purely legal grounds, but I personally would the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission views in Senate hearings, he will challenge his bet the ranch on how he would come down on t were "the most retrograde in its history," whose listeners to think beyond platitudes and con- issue. first marriage ended in a "messy divorce that ventional orthodoxy. Clarence Thomas has al- deserves scrutiny," whose "opposition to abortion. ways supported the idea of giving preferential I know something about Thomas's first m is well-known," whose "allegiance to the pope" treatment to the truly disadvantaged, especially riage because I spent many hours talking W should be examined, whose actions are "guided minorities, rather than to those from middle- or him as it broke apart. He was tormented be by political calculation," and who is "harshly upper middle-class backgrounds who happen to about breaking his wedding vows and about 1 judgmental and self-righteous rather than com- be members of a targeted minority group. To do impact of the divorce on his young son. passionate and empathetic." otherwise risks stigmatizing those favored-to sought me out for advice because I was The Clarence Thomas I know is a caring, make it appear as if they are incapable of divorced father with two well-adjusted childr decent, honest, bright, good-humored, modest competing fairly. It also can put the unprepared His divorce was handled amicably, with Clarer and thoughtful father, husband and public servant in situations where they are destined to fail. "God given undisputed primary custody of his Si who has already come farther in 43 years than helps those who help themselves," Clarence Both parents have played a major role in most of us will in a lifetime. might say, encouraging self-help and self-reliance. upbringing, and all parties have great respect The president did his nominee no favor when Martin Luther King Jr. Malcolm X and Jesse each other. he said race was not a factor in the nomination. Jackson have stressed such themes. Clarence's record as EEOC chairman deserv Of course it was, and Thomas readily admits it, Regarding his feelings about the pope, I be- close scrutiny, just as it did when he V just as he acknowledges that race played a role in lieve Clarence stopped being a practicing Catholic renominated and reconfirmed for a second te as chairman, and just as it did when he was nominated and confirmed to his seat on the D.C. battles with the White House and Justice Depart- Circuit Court of Appeals. The record will speak ment conservatives during the Reagan years for itself, but someone should also look inside the were hardly politic. In addition, several times agency to find out how people feel about Thomas through the years, I strongly advised him to the man and the leader. approach his detractors both on and off the Hill Evan Kemp, his successor as chairman, mar- "They attacked me without knowing the facts, vels at what Thomas did with a historically he would say, "and it would be hypocritical to underfunded agency that saw its budget cut nine approach them." This is a man who advanced in a out of 10 times in the 1980a. (Usually Congress political environment in spite of, not because of, his political skills. cut the president's request, then beats up the agency for its budget-related shortcomings.) Perhaps the most absurd charge leveled at Clarence Thomas inherited a poorly managed, Thomas is that "he forgot where he came from." dispirited agency whose employees were embar- Thomas's professional and personal life, not to rassed to admit where they worked. His legacy, mention his conscience, wouldn't permit him to according to Kemp, is that employees are now forget his roots if he wanted to Neither would proud to work at the EEOC and even named the the world around him: After lunch a few weeks new headquarters building after him. Nonethe- ago, he and I were strolling around downtown less, says Kemp, "Clarence won't get the credit Washington. He suddenly realized he was late for that is his due; I will." People throughout the an appointment and asked me I'm white) to hail agency sing Thomas's praises-his dedication, him a cab. 16 his professional standards, his extraordinary sen- y have trouble getting a cab downtown, and sitivity to and support of the "little people," and it's virtually impossible in Georgetown," he said, his inspiration to employees at all levels. jumping into the taxi I had flagged down as the The suggestion that his actions have been driver mouthed an obscenity in my direction. politically motivated is laughable. This is not a political animal. His passionate, behind-the-scenes The writer was principal policy adviser to Sen. John C. Danforth (R-Mo.) for 11 years. The Evening Sun Baltimore, Friday, July 12, 1991 Fear and loathing of Clarence Thomas P RESIDENT Busb's nomination of Judge erament power and personal responsibility Clarance Thomas to the U.S. Supreme vs. group entitlements. Court has prompted vehement, sometimes Though Thomas would join a conserva- reckless denunciations from the political left. tive majority already on the court, he would Patricia Ireland. executive vice president add one entirely new dimension: He would of the National Organization for Women challenge the "moral monopoly" the left has (NOW). labeled Thomas an "extremist." Har- exercised over blacks, other minorities and vard law professor Derrick Bell accused women. The monopoly view is to classify Bush of "gross token- people according to their alleged group ism in the appointment "victimisation" status, and then present Betsy of a black who is a con- each group as a monolith in its thinking, al. servative and shares lowing for no differences or debate. Hart the views of upper- The left seems to think that no one, as- class whites." Ellen cept a white male, is capable of succeeding Convisser, president of on his or her own, so it demands that group NOW's Massachusetts chapter. and Virginia members be awarded rights and handouts Gov. Douglas Wilder expressed serious con- based only on their group membership, not cern that Thomas might be too Catholic. 00 any individual initiative or merit. The Feminist attorney Flo Kennedy said of civil rights and feminist establishment base Thomas, "We must kill him politically," and their political agendas 00 such views. Arthur Kropp. president of People for the The problem for the left is that Thomas American Way, said be "could hardly imag- threatens to expose such follies. Soon, an ine a more troubling choice" for the high African-American of humble origins might court. be sitting on the highest court in the land, What may trouble Kropp and company interpreting, upholding and honoring the most is the fact that Thomas was born Constitution - proclaiming. if his previous black and poor in the heart of the segregat. writings are any indication, that the best ed South Yet without benefit of quotas, set-asides or special privileges, be rose way to overcome discrimination and blas is above it. But why are the liberals hurling not to advance it through race-based gov- such attacks at Thomas, a man who humbly ernment action. but to apply the law equal- said when accepting Bush's nomination to ly to all individuals. The left is afraid that the court, "As a child, I never dreamed I Thomas has escaped from the liberal plan- would see the Supreme Court, much less be tation and will now shed light on the Lies nominated to it"? used to keep minorities and women en- The answer lies not in the fact that slaved there. Thomas would drastically change the direc- For too long. debate in the United States tion of the court. After three landslide elec- has been dominated by self-appointed group tions of presidents who promised to put con- spokesmen. Thomas' presence on the high servative justices on the Supreme Court, a court would open debate by focusing new majority committed to upholding the Con- attention on individuals who don't think like stitution and letting the democratic process their group "leaders" say they should, and decide political issues already is in place. then emboldening them to become part of No, the real reason activist liberals oppose the political process. Thomas is because be affirms those values The liberals should be apprebensive; they have attacked for the last 30 years, with more issues returned to the American standing firmly against the dehumanizing people to be decided through democratic racial politics of quotas, affirmative action means. and the political process opened up and other "group remedies" sponsored by to debate from new and different voices, the left. many liberals will find themselves without Indeed. with Thomas on the high court, "groups" to speak for. the political debate might fundamentally change in the United States. We might, at- Betsy Hart is director of lectures and ter all. be able to rise above the divisive seminars at the Heritage Foundation in politics of race and gender and debate such Washington. fundamentals as individual liberty VS. gov- 7/31/91 Editorial Support for Supreme Court Nominee Judge Thomas "No one should count any chickens just yet, but the prospects that Clarence Thomas will get a new job in the fall are looking up." " .Indeed, while it's gone largely unreported, the NAACP's Benjamin Hooks pretty much endorsed the nominee in a news conference in Des Moines Tuesday. "Judge Thomas is, Mr. Hooks said, 'not completely without some good points.' He elaborated, 'When it comes to individual discrimination, his record is pretty clear.' Indeed, 'if a black or woman has been individually discriminated against or mistreated he'll go to the ends of the earth to correct it.' "Mr. Hooks went on to say that his group believes strongly that 'there ought to be a black on the Supreme Court.'. "As we've said, Judge Thomas is an excellent nominee quite aside from his race, and the court's deliberations do benefit from a diversity of backgrounds. As 43, he would also be the first representative on the court of the new generation of intellectual conservative legal scholars. Some interest groups might not like it, but it looks to us as if President Bush summed up the matter pretty well with a photo-op quote yesterday, "There was a kind of flurry of outrage and predictable smearing of the man. But as people get to see him, they get to know his record, they get to know his background. I have a feeling this country is strongly behind him." July 25, 1991 The Wall Street Journal "It's already starting to look as if the opponents of Clarence Thomas' nomination to the Supreme Court are clutching at straws. The man's personal story is inspiring. His conduct in public office has been exemplary. He obviously holds himself to high moral and ethical standards. These things, combined with his record on the bench, have translated to 52 percent white support and 57 percent black support for his nomination, according to the latest polls. "All of which makes the latest attempt to assassinate Judge Thomas' character seem almost laughable. " "Here's a prediction: The more such obviously politically motivated attacks on Judge Thomas get bandied about, the more Americans will rally to support him." July 24, 1991 The Washington Times "Whatever the eventual verdict on his nomination, many Americans who dare to be 'different' may discover they owe a debt of gratitude to Clarence Thomas, chosen by President George Bush for a vacancy on the United States Supreme Court." .As a black who grew up in economic deprivation, Thomas decided as an adult to embrace a so-called 'conservative' attitude toward this nation and government's responsibilities to Americans. The approach insists that citizens assume more responsibility for their lives and government less. "To hear some of his critics tell the tale, you would think Thomas has no right to believe that way. As if a die had been cast demanding that African Americans accept certain ideological precepts, Thomas is being skewered for daring to insist that opportunity exists for every American willing to pursue it." July 22, 1991 The Cedar Rapids Gazette "There is every reason for American blacks to welcome the new diversity that the appearance of a black conservative intelligentsia represents. Not only does it afford a choice between political parties and the policies they endorse, but it opens a new horizon for opportunity. If [black conservatism] starts spreading and blacks increasingly discover that the answer for poor people is not welfare, public housing, quotas and special treatment, the people who peddle, vote for and administer these programs will find themselves in very serious trouble." July 10, 1991 Washington Times "The Constitution is vague about the Senate's role in dealing with presidential nominations to the Supreme Court. " "They [U.S. Senators] can and should examine his public record, including his judicial opinions and other writings." "As they do so most will be pleased -- but some undoubtedly will be disappointed -- to find a jurist who loves America. "I have felt the pain of racism, as much as anyone else,' he said a few years ago. 'Yet I am wild about the Constitution and the Declaration [of Independence]. I believe in the American proposition, the American dream, because I've seen it in my own life.' "Such a man can't be insensitive or indifferent or recklessly ideological. Such a man could be a distinguished justice." July 7, 1991 The Cincinnati Enquirer 2 "This week, the former Savannahian [Clarence Thomas] got the prized nomination to fill the vacancy created by Justice Thurgood Marshall's retirement. The president couldn't have made a finer choice. "Judge Thomas has a long list of professional credentials in several branches of government that would serve him well on the high court. He worked as an assistant attorney general in Missouri for three years. He served as chairman of the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission during the Reagan and Bush administrations. He has served on the U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in the District of Columbia since March of 1990, winning the respect of his colleagues." "But the written resume of Clarence Thomas only tells half of the story. The other half, as many people in Savannah already know and the rest of the country is finding out, is just as impressive, if not more so. "Only in America could this have been possible.' Judge Thomas said shortly after his nomination. It was a fitting remark for someone who was born in a house without plumbing in the Pinpoint community 43 years ago and knew what it was like to sit in the back of the bus and not be able to find a job at any Atlanta law firm after getting out of Yale Law School. Yet he had the courage, conviction and support not to let poverty or racism stand in the way of his dreams. "Thus, those who question where Judge Thomas stands on civil rights actually come close to insulting him. He doesn't have to be told how important it is that every man be judged by the content of his character, not the color of his skin. He's lived it. "President Bush is predicting that his nominee will win Senate confirmation. All things being equal, he should." July 5, 1991 Savannah Morning News "Instead of viewing Judge Thomas' conservative philosophy in wonderment, we should wonder why traditional civil rights leaders have abandoned it. Since when are blacks Uncle Toms for espousing the bedrock values of their grandparents? Attempting to deny blacks the diversity of political thought that whites take for granted is itself racist. Clarence Thomas brings old-time, African American values of survival and determination to the highest court in the land." July 3, 1991 Atlanta Journal "In tapping Clarence Thomas to fill the Supreme Court seat of Thurgood Marshall, President Bush has chosen one of the most promising jurists in the nation. Despite his relatively youthful 43 years, Mr. Thomas already has shown that he possesses a brilliant legal mind and a commitment to public service in the best sense of that term. President Bush has picked the right person. The Senate should move quickly to confirm Clarence Thomas." July 3, 1991 The Washington Times 3 "His nomination acknowledges the political diversity, often overlooked, among black Americans. With the exception of the hearings over the nomination of Bork, the Judiciary Committee has taken too much refuge in the pieties of Presidential privilege of nomination and of protection of judicial 'independence,' avoiding issues of personal philosophy. The Senate has the constitutional charge to examine his fitness. And notwithstanding his commendable life experience, the Senate should examine him with great thoroughness." July 3, 1991 Miami Herald "Thomas" legal training and political experience appear to qualify him for a seat on the nation's highest tribunal. Senator Metzenbaum is surely correct in hoping to pin Thomas down on this sensitive area [right to privacy] of interpreting the Constitution. Nonetheless, senators will labor under the same limitation as they did during the Souter hearings: It would be wrong for senators to ask point-blank questions about how Thomas would vote on a Roe V. Wade appeal. Senators should stick to asking Thomas about his constitutional reasoning, not his desired result." July 3, 1991 Cleveland Plain Dealer "President Bush has made a superb choice in selecting Federal Appellate Judge Clarence Thomas. In Thomas, the President has chosen a highly capable jurist who has led an extraordinary and exemplary life. [But] liberals don't believe blacks have the same rights to adhere to whatever views they happen to espouse as do white Americans. Democrats see blacks like Thomas as an affront to their firm faith that they even if white -- 'know what's best for blacks.' The Clarence Thomases of America are believed to owe the nation an explanation as to why they oppose liberal orthodoxies. Thomas owes no one anything simply because he's black." July 3, 1991 New York Post "When Clarence Thomas paused yesterday to look back over an improbable life that has taken him from poverty in the segregated South to the threshold of the Supreme Court of the United States, he was suddenly so overcome with emotion that he couldn't speak. It was a moment with deep emotional significance for the nation as well. Bush could have found many nominees who could have counted on easier approval by the Senate. Thomas will probably require a harder fight, but there is reason to think he's worth it." July 2, 1991 Chicago Tribune 4 "It is said that the finest steel is tempered in the hottest fires. If true, Judge Clarence Thomas, President Bush's nominee for the U.S. Supreme Court, is a man of fine steel. A child of poverty reared by grandparents in a tenement lacking indoor plumbing, Judge Thomas, through strength of character and with the devoted help of his grandparents, has constructed for himself an exemplary life, a life that raises a standard to which future generations of Americans may repair. President Bush has clearly found a nominee whose character, integrity and intellect equal those of Justice Marshall." July 2, 1991 Dallas Morning News " even those who have disagreed with him on policy grounds will concede that his life, which began in extreme poverty, has been one of accomplishment. If confirmed, he would bring to the court a range of experience not shared by any other sitting justice." July 2, 1991 The Washington Post "Judge Thomas is precisely the kind of jurist President Bush assured voters he would select. He would take the Constitution seriously and apply the laws equally. We eagerly await the beginning of many years of service by Justice Clarence Thomas." July 2, 1991 Wall Street Journal For more information please contact the Office of Public Affairs at the White House 202/456-2483. 5 THE WALL STREET JOURNAL THURSDAY. JULY 25. 1991 AE Toward Justice Thomas No one should count any chickens conference in Des Moines Tuesday. just yet. but the prospects that Clar- Judge Thomas IS. Mr. Hooks said. ence Thomas will get a new job in the "not completely without some good fall are looking up. In particular. points." He elaborated. "When it when the Black Caucus opposed the comes to individual discrimination. nominee. it seems. they spoke as his record is pretty clear." Indeed. "if Beltway politicians rather than as a black or woman has been individu- representatives of the black commu- ally discriminated against or mis- nity. treated he'll go to the ends of the The far-left groups will continue earth to correct it." their Borking strategy of throwing up Mr. Hooks went on to say that his enough mud balls in the hope that group believes strongly that "there some will stick to Judge Thomas. Nor- ought to be a black on the Supreme man Lear's People for the American Court." If Judge Thomas is not con- Way issued a report slandering Mr. firmed. he said. the next nominee Thomas's tenure at the Equal Em- probably would not be black and ployment Opportunity Commission. would also be what Mr. Hooks called The Association of the Bar of the City 'unimpeachably conservative. far- of New York. which nearly lost its right Genghis Khan." We're not sure charity-tax status for its lobbying if a Justice Khan would have prac- against Robert Bork. is calling federal ticed judicial restraint. but Mr. judges looking for dirt on Judge Hooks's bottom line sure sounds to us Thomas: one judge we know asked like a vote to confirm. the caller from the group why the As we've said. Judge Thomas is an New York bar felt itself more impor- excellent nominee quite aside from tant than the bar in Lubbock. Texas. his race. and the court's deliberations The American Bar Association. which do benefit from a diversity of back- also ought to be cut out of any special grounds. At 43. he would also be the place in the process. has yet to be first representative on the court of the heard from. new generation of intellectual conser- It appears. though. that if white vative legal scholars. Some interest television moguis and elitist lawyers groups might not like it. but it looks to want to do in Judge Thomas. they will us as if President Bush summed up have to do it without much help from the matter pretty well with a photo-op black civil-rights groups. While the quote yesterday. "There was a kind of Urban League and NAACP would pre- flurry of outrage and predictable fer a black of a different persuasion. smearing of the man. But as people they are holding their fire. Indeed. get to see him. they get to know his while it's gone largely unreported. the record. they get to know his back- NAACP's Benjamin Hooks pretty ground. I have a feeling this country much endorsed the nominee in a news is strongiy behind him." The Washington Times 6 WEDNESDAY. JULY 24. 1991 Judge Thomas and the Puppy Chow caper t's already starting to look as if the opponents of Thomas demonstrated "flagrant disregard for com- I Clarence Thomas' nomination to the Supreme mon sense and legally encoded standards of judicial Court are clutching at straws. The man's personal conduct" by ruling in the case. story is inspiring. His conduct in public office has This is an interesting new standard for ethical con- been exemplary. He obviously holds himseif to high duct. requiring. as it does. that would-be judges have moral and ethical standards. These things, combined no friends. In any case. Mr. Danforth is obviously with his record on the bench. have translated to 52 baffled by the whole affair. since he and the judge percent white support and 57 percent black support never discussed the matter. Even the lawyers for Alpo, for his nomination. according to the latest polls. who have said they are satisfied with the ruling, seem All of which makes the latest attempt to assassinate mystified. Judge Thomas' character seem almost laughable. Su- Actually, Judge Thomas' opinion in the case is yet preme Court Watch. an arm of the radical Stalinoid another exampie of his scrupulous jurisprudence. The publication the Nation. comes now to denounce him for District Court's ruling against Raiston Purina mistak- failing to recuse himself from a puppy food case. In enly assigned all "profits" from the false advertising Alpo VS. Ralston Purina. Judge Thomas wrote an opin- to Alpo. It should instead have computed the damages ion that (among other things) set aside a $10.4 million Alpo actually suffered. Moreover. the District Court. in judgment against Ralston Purina related to a false an attempt "to encourage private attorneys general" in advertising claim made by Alpo. an area in which it felt federal enforcement efforts are What, you may ask. was the heinous conflict of lax. awarded attorneys' fees to Alpo. No go. wrote interest that should have required the judge to step Judge Thomas. These can only be awarded where a aside? Well. according to the ethical reasoning of Su- court has found willfullness or bad faith. not on a preme Court Watch. since Sen. John Danforth gave judge's whim. Judge Thomas his first government job and is a leader Here's a prediction: The more such obviously politi- in his confirmation effort. and since Mr. Danforth owns cally motivated attacks on Judge Thomas get bandied stock in Raiston Purina. it therefore follows that Judge about. the more Americans will rally to support him. 4A The Cedar Rapids Gazette: Mon., July 22. 1991 10 GAZETTE EDITORIALS Denial of rights HATEVER the eventual verdict on his W nomination. many Americans who dare to be "different" may discover they owe a debt of gratitude to Clarence Thomas, chosen by President George Bush for a vacancy on the United States Supreme Court. In this case, we are seeing Thomas branded as different because he has chosen not to conform with the image others would impose on him. As a black who grew up in economic deprivation, Thomas decided as an adult to embrace a so-called "conservative" attitude toward this nation and government's responsibilities to Americans. The approach insists that citizens assume more responsibility for their lives and government less. To hear some of his critics tell the tale, you would think Thomas has no right to believe that way. As if SUPREME COURT NOMINEE OPEN HOUSE BEWARE PRO- NO POLITICALLY LIFERS CATHOLICS CORRECT THIS SCRAM! ALLOWED WATCHDOG GUARDI CONSERVATIVE ABAINST Molly's Yard a die had been cast demanding that African Americans accept certain ideological precepts. Thomas is being skewered for daring to insist that opportunity exists for every American willing to pursue it. Certainly his convictions do not align with views held by many on the Senate Judiciary Committee, where his nomination for the high court will undergo its first major test. We can't predict Thomas' fate there, but we do know he should not be discarded merely because he has had the temerity to be black AND conservative. How hypocritical we Americans can be. Some supposed human rights exemplars apparently have judged Thomas and found him wanting. At the same time they blast anyone who evaluates others solely on the basis of skin color. How appalling that his critics (individualiy and collectively) would presume to declare that because of his conservative philosophy. it follows Thomas has abandoned the cause of civil rights and therefore is unfit for Supreme Court duty. What more direct assault on the ideals of individual rights could there be than to impose a philosophical litmus test on any American? The Washington Times WEDNESDAY. JULY 10. 1991 Mr. Thomas and black conservatives ince President Bush's nomination of Clarence S The message of people like Jay Parker, Thomas Thomas to the Supreme Court last week, Amer- Sowell. Walter Williams, Alan Keyes, Glenn Loury and ican liberals have been jittery. They may or The Washington Times' own late Lawrence Wade is may not be able to stop the Thomas nomination, that the chief victims of the welfare state that liberal- but they' beginning to realize that Mr. Thomas is not ism constructed have been the very people it was de- the only black conservative on the block, that the truth signed to help. black and white They have documented is that there are scads of American blacks who are and correlated the connection between dependence on conservatives and the emergence of conservative the welfare state and the decline of the two-parent ideas among blacks is a major challenge to current family, educational failure and the rise of crime. Along social policies. with other conservatives, they've found that reliance Ever since the advent of the civil rights movement, on the state hurts more than it helps. conventional wisdom has been that most blacks were There is every reason for American blacks to wet liberals. and certainly voting patterns supported this come the new diversity that the appearance of a black idea. Democratic presidential candidates have rou- conservative intelligentsua represents. Not only does it tinely won 90 percent or more of the black vote. and afford a choice between political parties and the poli- virtually every prominent black spokesman in the cies they endorse, but it opens a new horizon for op- country has been on the left side of the spectrum. portunity for Americans who have often been the vic- Blacks have provided the Der: crats with a major part ums of experiments to try to prove the theories of of their electoral clout. politicians and bureaucrats. But in the past 10 years there has emerged a small For that very reason. some people find the rise of but vocal band of black conservative intellectuals. of black conservatism incredible as well as threatening. whom Mr. Thomas is one. They include names that are If It starts spreading and blacks increasingly discover generally not as well known as those of Jesse Jackson, that the answer for poor people is not welfare. public Benjamin Hooks. Coretta King. Andrew Young and housing. quotas and special treatment. the people who other members of the civil rights establishment, but peddle. vote for and administer these programs will they've managed to get their ideas across. find themselves in very serious trouble. THE CINCINNATI ENQUIRER 57 Sunday. July 7. 1991 62 Judge Thomas Senators will hurt themselves if they ignore propriety The Constitution is vague about the come up in the future." Senate's role in dealing with presiden- Wise heads, such as Senators Spec- tial nominations to the Supreme ter and Hatch, however, are unlikely Court. It simply requires that the to prevail. And Judge Thomas is prob- Senate confirm appointments to the ably going to find himself in the shoes federal judiciary. As the Senate and its of a candidate for the Hamilton Coun- Judiciary Committee prepare ty Municipal Court who is to pass on President Bush's asked during the campaign nomination of Judge Clar- what he's going to do about ence Thomas to fill the seat drunk drivers. The prudent vacated by the retirement of respond that they will uphold Justice Thurgood Marshall, law; the grandstanders it's clear that some senators promise to throw the book at have an extraordinary view them. of their function. If the sena- tors go beyond propriety in The Senate and the nation their forthcoming inquiry in- needn't buy a pig in a poke. to Judge Thomas' qualifica- Judge Thomas They can and should ask tions, they risk injuring themselves Judge Thomas about his judi- more than they injure Judge Thomas. cial philosophy. They should examine Ohio's Sen. Howard Metzenbaum, his public record, including his judicial for one, is determined to learn how opinions and his other writings. Judge Thomas might rule on an abor- As they do so most will be pleased tion case. - but some undoubtedly will be dis- Sen. Batrick Leahy, D-Vt., is deter- appointed - to find a jurist who loves mined to ask Judge Thomas, "What do America. you think of settled law?" "I have felt the pain of racism, as Other members of the Judiciary much as anyone else," he said a few Committee seem appalled by the up- years ago. "Yet I am wild about the coming inquisition. Said Sen. Arlen Constitution and the Declaration [of Specter, R-Pa., "I do not think it is Independence]. I believe in the appropriate to ask a nominee the American proposition, the American ultimate question as to how he is dream, because I've seen it in my own going to decide a specific case." life." Adds Sen. Orrin Hatch, R-Utah. Such a man can't be insensitive or "Literally nobody nominated for the indifferent or recklessly ideological. Supreme Court should give his or her Such a man could be a distinguished views with regard to cases that might justice. Friday, July 5, 1991 Sabannah Morning News. Established 1850 FRANK T. ANDERSON Publisher WALLACE M. DAVIS, JR. LARRY POWELL Executive Editor REXANNA K. LESTER Associate Editor Managing Editor The Thomas Nomination It was rumored that Judge Clarence plumbing in the Pinpoint community 43 Thomas was being groomed for the U.S. years ago and knew what it was like to sit Supreme Court when President Bush chose in the back of the bus and not be able to him to fill a high-profile vacancy on the find a job at any Atlanta law firm after federal appellate court in Washington, getting out of Yale Law School. Yet he had D.C., last year. the courage, conviction and support not to This week, the former Savannahian got let poverty or racism stand in the way of the prized nomination to fill the vacancy his dreams. created by Justice Thurgood Marshall's Thus, those who question where Judge retirement. The president couldn't have Thomas stands on civil rights actually made a finer choice. come close to insulting him. He doesn't Judge Thomas has a long list of profes- have to be told how important it is that ev- sional credentials in several branches of ery man be judged by the content of his government that would serve him well on character, not the color of his skin. He's the high court. He worked as an assistant lived it. attorney general in Missouri for three President Bush is predicting that his years. He served as chairman of the Equal nominee will win Senate confirmation. All Employment Opportunity Commission things being equal, he should. But given during the Reagan and Bush administra- the politicization of the process, as well as tions. He has served on the U.S. Circuit the reluctance of some liberals to see the Court of Appeals in the District of Colum- court become more mainstream, things bia since March of 1990, winning the re- could get a little rocky. Some senators plan spect of his colleagues. to grill him on some hot-button issues, like In fact, those liberal critics who are abortion, in hopes of getting a response sniping at Judge Thomas because of his that would kill his chances and politically past conservative leanings should listen to embarrass the president. what Chief Judge Aubrey E. Robinson Jr. But the upper chamber of Congress of the appeals court had to say about the should be reminded to judge him on his nominee. He called him "a very hard- merits as a jurist. He shouldn't be evaluat- working person He'll be very conscien- ed by a litmus test that some politician tious." And Judge Robinson is no right- concocts. winger. He's liberal. And like Judge Thom- In any case, it's a honor just to be con- as, he's black. sidered for a Supreme Court post, let alone But the written resume of Clarence be nominated. Judge Thomas, because of Thomas only tells half of the story. The his professional and personal achieve- other half, as many people in Savannah al- ments and his demonstrated ability to ready know and the rest of the country is grow in the positions he has held, deserves finding out, is just as impressive, if not a fair hearing. more so. And if he gets one, Savannah will soon "Only in America could this have been proudly boast that one of its own, a home possible." Judge Thomas said shortly after boy from Pinpoint, is one of nine distin- his nomination. It was a fitting remark for guished members of the highest court in someone who was born in a house without the land. The Atlanta Tournal July 3, ,1991 Judge Thomas brings values that the nation can live by C larence Thomas. President Bush's nominee to the U.S. Su- preme Court. was choked with emotion when he paid trib- ute to his grandparents. his mother and the nuns who taught him to jump over the hurdles that stand in life's way. His story is dramatic. But it isn't extraordinary. Thousands of black Americans can speak of the stern. but caring parent or grandparent who instilled this important message: You must. fend for yourselves. Indeed. such messages help explain how black Americans survived slavery and Jim Crow: They were taught not just to endure indignities. but to rise above them. Why. then. do we not hear the same messages of self-help and determination from the Ben Hookses of the world? Because such "leaders" have preferred to stress their status as victims rather than as strivers. Clarence Thomas has instead accomplished an extraordinary feat: He has managed to bring with him the bedrock values and principles he learned as ,a child. He did not discard them in the liberal halls of. a faraway university. He didn't succumb to the fashionable ideology of his day. Instead he reached back into his grandfather's basket of values and said: The hard work and reliance on self that lifted me from poverty can Hit millions more. Yes. there's discrimina- tion out there. But it can be overcome. Judge Thomas once said in an interview. There's nothing you can do to get past black skin. I don't care how educated you are. how good you are at what you do." His point was that discrimination might always be with us. so blacks should not waste time waiting for it to go away. The challenge IS to overcome it. to work around it. to keep it from impeding success. Blacks. he thinks. shouldn't accept the victimis mentality that "I'm black. therefore 1 can't." or "I'm black. theretore they won't let me." His guiding philosophy has been: "I'm black and I'm discriminated against but I won't let discrimination beat me down." It's not a new philosophy: Martin Luther King Jr. expressed the same determination in his crusade against hatred. and thou- sands of grandparents like Judge Thomas's have instilled that life-guiding message in their grandchildren. So instead of viewing Judge Thomas's conservative philoso- phy in wonderment. we should wonder why traditional civil rights leaders have abandoned it. And we should wonder why so many people consider such messages - which have been basic to the survival of black Americans - "conservative" to the point of labeling Judge Thomas an "Uncle Tom." Since when are blacks Uncle Toms for espousing the bedrock values of their grandparents? Neither should we be quick to label every black an Uncle Tom who challenges the priorities of the civil nunts establish- ment. Attempting to deny blacks the diversity of political thought that whites take for granted IS itself racist Clarence Thomas brings old-tinic. African American values of survival and determination to the highest court in the land They are values that will serve the nation well. WEDNESDAY. JULY 3. 1991 Unqualifiedly qualified I n tapping Clarence Thomas to fill the Supreme viduals. He also forcefully opposed the intellectually Court seat of Thurgood Marshall. President Bush fashionable 1980s doctrine of equal pay for "compara- has chosen one of the most promising jurists in ble worth." a notion that. had it prevailed. would have the nation. Despite his relatively youthful 43 had judges setting pay scales for private and public years. Mr. Thomas already has shown that he pos- enterprises throughout the United States. sesses a brilliant legal mind and a commitment to In 1990. President Bush named Mr. Thomas to the public service in the best sense of that term. Court of Appeals of the District of Columbia. He was Mr. Thomas' origins are humble. His family worked widely seen at the time as a rising star and a likely hard to enable him to go to college, and he worked hard contender for a Supreme Court seat. That. combined as well In his St: ment to the press after Mr. Bush with his commitment to a colorblind society, meant he announced his nomination. he choked with emotion as was subjected to an unusually high degree of scrutiny he thanked his grandparents. his parents and the nuns by political opponents. The American Bar Association from his Catholic school days. "all of whom were ada- twice undertook full background investigations and mant that I grow up to make something of myself." pronounced him "qualified." Senate Judiciary Commit- That he did. He graduated from Holy Cross and tee Chairman Joseph Biden issued a demand for him went on to Yale Law School. and when finished he went to produce thousands of pages of documents from his to work for the Missouri attorney general. now Sen. EEOC years. If any of the senators were hoping to find John Danforth He made a lasting impression. "I know something to derail his confirmation, they failed to do him to be an absolutely first-rate lawyer. and beyond so. that. I know him to be a first-rate human being." Mr. Meanwhile. Democratic Sens. Sam Nunn. and Danforth has said. In 1977. Mr. Thomas left govern- Charles Robb. convinced of his abilities. introduced ment to practice law in the private sector. for Monsanto him to the Judiciary Committee and endorsed his Corp., before rejoining Mr. Danforth as a legislative nomination. Mr. Thomas forcefully defended his rec- assistant in Washington in 1979. ord at the hearing, and the only Judiciary Committee In 1981. the Reagan administration named Mr. member who opposed him was Sen. Howard Metzen- Thomas to head the civil rights division of the Educa- baum. tion Department. In 1982. he went on to head the Equal In his year and a half as an appeals court judge, Mr. Employment Opportunity Commission. where in the Thomas has further distinguished himself. He has course of eight years he compiled a distinguished rec- written firm opinions on criminal justice matters and ord of aggressive enforcement of anti-discrimination is obviously sensitive to the proper role of the federal laws in the workplace. In those years. he also developed courts. a reputation as a forceful proponent of equality of opportunity. He championed the idea of a colorblind President Bush has picked the right person. The Constitution and opposed racial quotas and other de- Senate should move quickly to confirm Clarence vices that gave legal status to groups rather than indi- Thomas. FINAL Miami 1011 WEDNESDAY Judge Thomas: On trial I NSTEAD OF reaching for a "stealth" candidate such as David Souter. this The Judiciary Committee time President Bush has nominated for the Supreme Court a man about whom pub- has taken too much refuge in IIC sentiments had crystallized over the last decade of his public career. the pieties of Presidential The symbolism of Clarence Thomas's nomination is rich. His life as a black man privilege of nomination and who overcame deep poverty and prejudice of protection of judicial is a testament to the power of the individ- ual. the historic strength of the extended "independence," avoiding family in the black community. and the dis- issues personal philosophy. cipline of Catholic education. There. also. is the symbolism of main- taining minority representation on the nation's highest court. And because of Mr. reveal much about his attitudes toward laws Thomas's conservatism. his nomination with which he disagrees. acknowledges the political diversity, often A full inquiry also must address Judge overlooked. among black Americans. Thomas's attitudes toward the "unenumer- However. to acknowledge the political ated" Constitutional rights. the rights that diversity between Judge Thomas and the Americans believe that they have but that legend whom he would replace. Thurgood are not spelled out. One is the right of pr- Marshall. is to acknowledge that politics vacy. which the Court previously has used and personal beliefs influence the Court's to overtum laws against contraception and opinions. This Court has shown willingness. abortion. among other issues. The privacy recently even glee. at its new majority's issue goes to the heart of self-determination ability to modify or overturn its own prece- for women and to the power of government dents. to parse the Constitution in quest of to intervene in decisions of a most personal its most constrained meaning. and intimate nature. This therefore puts a great burden on With the exception of the hearings over the Senate Judiciary Committee. Judge the nomination of Robert Bork. the Judi- Thomas's judicial service began only in clary Committee has taken too much refuge 1989. That's too short a record to show in the pieties of Presidential privilege of how he resolves conflicts between personal nomination and of protection of judicial news and law. both statutory and prece- "independence." avoiding issues of per- dent. He does have a seven-year record as sonal philosophy. The hearings on the nomi- chairman of the Equal Employment Oppor- nation of Antonin Scalia were a case study in tunity Commission. and this record that politeness. and the result has been nearly should be examined minutely. unbounded judicial activism. At the EEOC. he created a firestorm of li confirmed, Judge Thomas. a mere 43. controversy with statements deemed hos- could well influence Americans' rights for tile to established civil-rights laws. Oppor the next 40 years. The Senate has the Con- nents accused him of not pressing investiga- stitutional charge to examine his fitness. tions and of ignoring age-discrimination And notwithstanding his commendable life complaints. He denies that his EEOC tenure experience. the Senate should examine him was less than vigorous: a fui: inquiry might with great thoroughness. THE PLAIN DEALER Wednesday /July 3/1991 Judging the Thomas nomination P oliticians come and go with Washington's Thomas' aggressive anti-affirmative-action posi- quick election cycles. but Supreme Court jus- tion antagonized most civil-rights activists, who tices wield vast power for decades. Thus the Sen- admired Marshall's approach. Moreover, advocates ate owes the nation a painstaking look at President for the elderly claim he ignored thousands of age- Bush's controversial choice to join the Rehnquist discrimination complaints to the EEOC. The Judi- Court: Clarence Thomas. a 43-year-old federal ciary Committee must use its hearings to examine appeals-court judge who had served in sub-Cabinet Thomas' hostility to affirmative action, exploring roles in the Reagan administration. his readiness to reverse Supreme Court prece- Thomas' legal training and political experience dents. appear to qualify him for a seat on the nation's Senators must also examine Thomas' views on highest tribunal. But the Constitution gives the the most sensitive issue on the next term's court Senate a solemn duty to "advise and consent" on docket: the right to privacy and the right that lifetime appointments to the federal bench, and stems from it, the option of choosing safe, legal there is no need for a rush to judgment. The next abortion. Like last summer's Supreme Court Supreme Court session will not begin until the first Monday in October, leaving the Senate Judici- nominee, then-judge David H. Souter, Thomas has ary Committee and then the full Senate ample had only a brief tenure on the federal bench and time to weigh Thomas credentials. has no widely known opinion on abortion rights. The nomination of Thomas. an ardent Sen. Howard M. Metzenbaum of Ohio, who conservative, is sure to disappoint those who serves on the Judiciary panel, is surely correct in hoped to see Bush name a philosophical heir to re- hoping to pin Thomas down on this sensitive area tiring Justice Thurgood Marshall, a towering fig- of interpreting the Constitution. Nonetheless, sen- ure in modern liberalism. Even if Bush was sure to ators will labor under the same limitation as they name a conservative to succeed Marshall, Thomas did during the Souter hearings: It would be wrong advocates a drastically different prescription for for senators to ask point-blank questions about black Americans: up-by-the-bootstraps individual- how Thomas would vote on a Roe VS. Wade appeal, ism. Marshall, by contrast. has championed group- which may arrive next term in challenges to the based; race-conscious remedies to overcome Amer- anti-abortion restrictions imposed by Pennsylvania ica's history of racial discrimination. and Louisiana. As they did in the hearings for Thomas was only five years old when Marshall Souter and then-judge Anthony Kennedy, senators argued and won this century's landmark case in should stick to asking Thomas about his constitu- civil-rights law, Brown vs. Board of Education. in tional reasoning. not his desired result. 1954. Thomas' progress out of poverty. working his The Supreme Court, as the adage asserts, does way through Holy Cross College and Yale Univer- follow the election returns: Conservative Republi- sity Law School. is a modern-day Horatio Alger can presidents. having won five of the last six story. But Thomas' political philosophy as well as elections. are exerting their power to shift the fed- personal history must come under Senate scrutiny. eral judiciary further to the right. But the Senate, As an aide in the Reagan-era Department of Edu- empowered to reject any nominee who is far out- cation and as chairman of the Equal Employment side the mainstream of politics and the law, must Opportunity Commission. Thomas made no secret ensure that Thomas has a -well-reasoned reading of of his disdain for civil-rights traditionalists. the Constitution. TNEWYORK/POST Wednesday July 3-199 Clarence Thomas to the Court President Bush has made a superb servative and then nominated a liberal- choice in selecting Federal Appellate left Supreme Court judge. Judge Clarence Thomas to fill the Su- As it happens, polls show that Ameri- preme Court vacancy left by the retire- cans like the latest nomination - 54 ment of Thurgood Marshall percent deem Thomas himself a good In Thomas. the President has chosen a choice, according to an ABC poll (most highly capable jurist who has led an ex- polled. not surprisingly, had never traordinary and exemplary life; he has heard of him prior to the announce- also designated a ment: Federal judges don't have high relatively young profiles) and 60 percent are happy Bush man, who should chose a conservative. help shape Su- So. all in all. Thomas' confirmation preme Court will be a breeze - right? decisions for a Wrong. long time to It's already clear that the liberal/left come. will do everything it can to prevent Thomas, of Clarence Thomas from ascending to the course. is black. high court. Did his race have something to do with his se- DOUBLE WHAMMY lection? It's JUDGE THOMAS inevitable that this question be raised in As the confirmation fight over Robert a society that has become increasingly Bork demonstrated. the Democratic committed to the policy of counting by Senate does not recognize the right of race. Moreover, we'd guess the answer the President to appoint jurists to the is yes - in the best possible way. Supreme Court simply because they are In choosing Judge Thomas, It would qualified. Some Democratic senators seem the President was guided by origi- have already hinted that they will apply nal (pre-quota, pre-race-norming) prin- various ideological "litmus tests" to ciples on which the affirmative-action Judge Thomas idea was based. And Thomas faces what might be The President made sure that black called a double whammy. His nomina- (and Hispanic) applicants were in- tion will be fought not just due to his cluded in the pool of potential nominess ideology, but because he's black. for Thurgood Marshall's seat. And why Liberals don't believe blacks have the not take pains to see that blacks are same rights to adhere to whatever considered for high-profile posts va- views they happen to espouse as do cated by other blacks? This kind of af- white Americana Democrats see blacks firmative action - which doesn't sub- like Clarence Thomas as an affront to vert existing standards of excellence or their firm faith that they - even if claim that such standards are irrele- white - "know what's best for blacks." vant - is something we. and most The Clarence Thomases of America Americans, have long favored. are believed to owe the nation an expla- nation as to why they oppose liberal or- thodoxies Whites need not explain why IMPRESSIVE RESUME they are conservative; that, however, does not apply to blacks. Indeed, yesterday's New York Times Is Thomas genuinely qualified? Well, made just this claim in an editorial: Yale Law School: assistant attorney Thomas. said the Times, "owes the Sen- general of Missouri; assistant U.S. sec- ate and the public an explanation of retary of education for civil rights: why he differs so strongly with civil chairman of the U.S. Equal Employ- rights advocates about the right reme- ment Opportunity Commission: U.S. cir- dies for proven discrimination" cuit judge for the District of Columbia, Well. we differ. Thomas owes no one along with private-sector legal experi- anything simply because he's black. To ence and a stint as a legislative assist- suggest otherwise strikes us as de- ant on Capitol Hill - all by the age of meaning to him and insidious to the so- 43? That sounds pretty good to us. cial fabric. But Clarence Thomas' worldview was undoubtedly an even more central fac- tor. Thomas shares with Bush a non-in- SENATE HEARINGS terventionist understanding of the role of the judiciary in American life. The Nevertheless, we look forward to the nominee's manifest opposition to the no- confirmation hearings. It will be fun to tion that judges should legislate from watch white. wealthy. liberal senators the bench. his akepticism about the like Biden, Metzenbaum and Kennedy liberal agenda - particularly as it per- demand that Thomas - a black who's tains to improving the lives of blacks in experienced the pain of discrimination America - makes him a firm ideologi- first hand - "explain himself." It will be cal compatriot of the President. entertaining to watch these men inti- Thus. in every respect Thomas is a mate that they - and not he - "know" logical choice. Moreover. it's safe to say what's best for blacks. the American people want Thomas - Yes, we realize there will also be nasty or someone like him - on the court. attack ads like those aimed at slander- When President Bush was elected. it ing Robert Bork. But we suspect that was widely assumed that he would have this time, the Bidens and the People for Supreme Court appointments to make the American Way will fail and embar- - and presidents are expected to name rass themselves in the process. judges who share their views. It would In the meantime. we applaud Presi- be quite strange. after all, if George dent Bush and congratulate Judge Bush won election as a Republican-con- Thomas on his appointment. Cimago VIIVUNE Tuesday. July 2. 1991 A nominee with a mind of his own When Clarence Thomas paused vesterdav to look There IS much to be learned about the norrunce 5 back over an improbable We that has taken hum from his Senate confirmation hearings. but he appears rullv poverty in the segregated South to the threshold of the qualified for the job. bringing a wealth of experience in Supreme Court of the United States. he was suddenly government unusual for someone of 43 ears A Yale so overcome with emouon that he couldn't speak. It Law School graduate. Thomas worked in the office of was a moment with deep emotional significance for the Missouri attorney general and on Capitol Hill be- the nation 23 well fore joining the Reagan Education Department as as- It reminded us all that at ILS best. this country still sistant secretary for and rights. In 1982 he became stands for the belief that every person should be al- chairman of the Equal Employment Opportunity lowed to nse as high as his abilities will take hum. That Commission. and since last year he has served on the ideal has not been realized in full in American society. U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia. but Thomas nomination symbolizes our continued The coming controversy stems not from his creden- commitment to make If a reality. despite senous and tais or his ability but has ideology. Thomas has been sincere disagreements about how to reach that goal an unyielding opponent of racial preferences and of Critics question whether the quota-bashing president federal policies that be feels foster quotas. As head of has embraced his own quota for the Supreme Court. the EEOC. he rejected the old policy of treating stans- replacing a black with a black. They muss a crucial tical dispanties as proof of discrimination. while scorn- point about the Supreme Court. which is that It serves ung racial adjustments in apunide tests as assuming as guardian of our belief in "equal justice under law." "some inherent inferiority of blacks. Hispanics and When Lyndon Johnson named the tirst black justice. other minorines." Thursood Marshall. un 1967. he provided something For these and other stands. he was attacked by liber- badiv needed: visible proof that the court. and the law. al lawmakers and onganizations. But his views. whether are of. by and for the people-all the people. Today, one agrees with them or not. were not formed without sad to say. that fact still needs affirmation. a full and deeply personal understanding of the plight It was rumored that Bush would pick a Hispanic for of African-Americans. Senators and interest groups the job instead-a choice that had obvious political have every nght to argue that Thomas 5 wrong on attractions. since Republicans are far more. likely to many racial issues; they would be unfair and ill-advised attract Hispanic votes than black ones The Hispanic to suggest that he is indifferent to racial justice. judges who were mentioned as possibilities most likely Bush could have found many nominees who could would have surred little of the controversy that the have counted on easier approval by the Senate Thom- independent-minded Thomas certainly will. It took as will probably require 3 harder fight. but there 3 courage for Bush to set these considerations aside. reason to think he's worth IL The Ballas Morning News Tuesday, July 2. 1991 STRONG CHOICE Judge Thomas is a man of integrity, ability It is said that the finest steel is tempered scribe his friend of 20 years. Judge Thomas. in the hottest fires. If true. Judge Clarence "Judge Thomas is a man who believes at the Thomas. President Bush's nominee for the deepest level. justice must be colorblind." as U.S. Supreme Court. is a man of fine steel. A serts Mr. Jackson. "He believes African- child of poverty reared by grandparents in a Americans should use their economic power tenement lacking indoor plumbings Judge to do for themselves rather than ask for Thomas. through strength of character and something they feel they are owed." with the devoted help of his grandparents. While some might take issue with that has constructed for himself an exemplary philosophy. any detractors will find it diffi- life. 8 life that raises a standard to which cult to take issue with Judge Thomas' legal future generations of Americans may repair. abilities. his mental strength. his character Like the man he has been chosen to suc- or his judicial temperament. ceed. Justice Thurgood Marshall. Judge The It will be hard indeed for even those sens- mas is black. Like Justice Marshall. he rose tors who most vigorously disagree with through great personal effort and in the Judge Thomas voluminous written record face of obstacles that would have thwarted to fault a man who could climb from such lesser men. Unlike Justice Marshall. Judge abject poverty through a then all-white sem- Thomas has developed a view of life and law inary school. through Holy Cross (on schol- that places greater emphasis on individual arships) and finally through Yale Law effort. individual responsibility and the School. It will be hard for a Senate Judiciary sanctity of law above race. These beliefs Committee that voted 21 to 1 to confirm have led him to oppose quotas and other af- Judge Thomas for the 1st U.S. Circuit Court firmative action tools that grew out of the of Appeals to now find issues with which to civil rights movement of the 1960s. reject him for the high court. There will be an attempt by liberals who Although many justices have gone believe that individuals are victims of through a metamorphosis from one philoso- society's failings. and that special legal re- phy to another. Judge Thomas would begin dress IS essential to overcome discrimine- his tenure on the high court as an acknowl- non. to cast him as an "Uncle Tom" who has edged conservative. Many will find the stark adopted his conservative views from expedi- contrast with Justice Marshall offensive. ency. not conviction. No less an authority The goals of these two men. however. are than Alphonso Jackson. director of the Dal- not so different. They both believe deeply las Housing Authority. asserts any such alle- in justice. However different the roads they gations would be pure bunk. would take to attain that justice. President "Capable. competent and compassionate" Bush has clearly found a nominee whose are the words Mr. Jackson. a man who character. integrity and intellect equal chooses his words with care. uses to de- those of Justice Marshall. The Washington Post TLESDAY. JULY 2 1991 Judge Thomas's Nomination UDGE Clarence Thomas. who was nominat- other senator to rule with him against the nomina- J ed yesterday by President Bush to fill a tion. This time the stakes are higher and the vacancy on the Supreme Court. has been a questioning will 20 beyond his record in the gov- well-known and sometimes controversial fig- emment to hus broader judicial philosophy. Groups ure in the government for more than a decade. that chose to sit out the last confirmation battle ml But even those who have disagreed with him on surely be involved this time. policy grounds will concede that his life. which Judge Thomas IS the first person nominated to began in extreme poverty. has been one of the Supreme Court who was born after World War accomplishment. If confirmed. he would bring to II. He IS only the second black named to that the court a range of experience not shared by any position. But it IS hus personal background that other sitting justice. would bring the most important element of diver- Conservative black Republicans are a rare sity to the court. Justice Thurgood Marshall. the breed. and Judge Thomas's performance in high- only black to have served on the Supreme Court. visibility civil rights jobs in the Reagan and Bush certainly knew discrimination and adversity, but he administrations was watched carefully. His ac- was the product of a stable. working-class family tions in these positions will surely be the focus of living in Baltimore. Judge Thomas was raised in the Senate Judiciary Committee's inquiry. which rigidly segregated Georgia by grandparents who be will begin soon. says were functionally illiterate. Nevertheless. they The terram IS not unfamiliar. however. Only 18 managed to provide him an education. a disciplined months ago he went before the same panel to be and loving home and the encouragement necessary confirmed in has present position on the U.S. Court to convince hon that he could succeed. of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit. Sen. Howard He said yesterday that be wanted to be "an Metzenbaum initiated a thorough investigation. example to those who are where I wa m the listened to every group and individual with a court. he could be more. He could add. chose gnevance. stited through thousands of documents to, a welcome and much needed sensitivity on and was nevertheless able to persuade only one issues of race and poverty. THE WALL STREET JOURNAL. July 2, 1991 Justice Thomas Judge Thomas's life IS 1 model mean that race IS a wholly irrelevent or all Americans." President Bush consideration. As Mr. Thomas wrote said yesterday as he honored both the in the Journal in 1987. "The Constitu- highest ideals of civil rights and the tion. by protecting the rights of indi- great principles of the emerging con- viduals. is colorblind. But a society servative jurisprudence. Clarence cannot be colorblind. any more than Thomas's record of achievement and men and women can escape their bod- his well-developed judicial philosophy ies." We would strongly oppose a law make him more than qualified to join that mandates that one of the nine the Supreme Court. The combination Supreme Court seats must be held by of who he is and what he believes a black. but it is also desirable that a could make his nomination President President nominate a black who is so Bush's most important domestic-pol- clearly qualified for the job. from the bench. He has written se:- ICY accomplishment. This is especially true here and eral important decisions. but we are Judge Thomas's remarkable ca- now. Just as inurgoou suen " reer began when he overcame the bolized the generation that overcame especially impressed with his May 10 Jim Crow. Justice Thomas would opinion in Cross-Sound Ferry Services hurdles of a life that started in the L°. Interstate Commerce Commission. poverty of segregated rural Georgia. serve as a beacon for a troubled gen- eration of minorities who deserve re- In it. he addressed the key question His independence was clear when he of standing-that IS. when does a case graduated from Yale Law School in- minders of the importance of strong tending to become a tax attorney. but families and education, "In my view. raise the kind of controversy that courts are supposed to decide. "When refused to join the prestigious law only in America could this have been federal jurisdiction does not exist. fed- firms that viewed him primarily as a possible." Judge Thomas said yester- eral judges have no authority to exer- black. not as a gifted legal mind. (As day in accepting the nomination to the post where he said he hoped to be an cise -even if everyone-judges. par- Dinesh D'Souza writes nearby. he in- stead went to work in government for example to those who are where I ties. members of the public-wants John Danforth. One irony is that was. and to show them that indeed. the dispute resolved." Judge Thomas wrote. "The truistic constraint on the Judge Thomas's refusal to become a there is hope." federal judicial power. then. is this: A law-firm token means the American Judge Thomas is another role federal court may not decide cases Bar Association may mark him down model as well. Many talented minori- when it cannot decide cases. and must for failing to practice law long ties and women have experienced the determine whether it can. before it enough. double-edged sword of affirmative ac- Ralph Neas and People for the tion. Judge Thomas signaled at yes. may." Judicial restraint has rarely been so pithily expressed. American Way claim to doubt Judge terday's press conference that he can Judge Thomas IS precisely the kind Thomas's commitment to racial be stoic in the face of taunts by those of jurist President Bush assured equality. None of this will surprise who refuse to believe that his accom- voters he would select. He would take Judge Thomas. He also endured snip- plishments are his own. ing from the pro-quota lobbyists dur- Unlike David Souter. this nominee the Constitution seriously and apply the laws equally. we eagerly await ing his eight years as head of the has a long and distinguished paper the beginning of many years of serv- Equal Employment Opportunity Com- trail. From his writings and actions. ice by Justice Clarence Thomas. mission. His years in the hothouse of we have no doubt that Justice Thomas political Washington will serve him would join Antonin Scalia on the schol- well during the nomination process arly and sometimes libertarian wing and later in adjudicating the political of the conservative court. We would issues that inevitably come to the Su- not be surprised if he gives the court a preme Court. greater understanding of economic We would like to put everyone on liberties as one of the Founding Fa- notice that those who say Judge thers' more important civil rights. Thomas was nominated to fill a racial Judge Thomas has made very quota run the risk of being labeled clear that he IS of the judicial-re- racists. Opposition to quotas does not straint school that abhors legislating PROPOSED REMARKS IN SUPPORT OF JUDGE THOMAS FOR RADIO AMERICA COMMENTARY This is Bobbie Kilberg, Deputy Assistant to President Bush for Public Liaison. As a lawyer and working mother of five, I'd like to tell you the truth about the President's nominee to the Supreme Court, Judge Clarence Thomas. I've known Clarence Thomas for many years and we both graduated from Yale Law School. When President Bush picked Judge Thomas, he found an individual who is uniquely qualified. A judicial moderate. A man dedicated to the fidelity to the Constitution. A man who knows what it is like to fight discrimination and win. However, there are some national groups and organizations - - the NAACP being one -- that believe a black Americans' fight from the impoverished and segregated community of Pin Point, Georgia, to the top posts of federal government and U.S. District Court, isn't enough. It is enough and they are wrong. Let me set the record straight. Judge Thomas represents the epitome of the American dream. He grew up in a poor and humble family in segregated Southern Georgia. He worked his way through school, helping in his grandfather's delivery business. He rose through government service from Assistant Secretary for Civil Rights at the Department of Education to Chairman of the Equal Employment Opportunities Commission. And in 1990, President Bush appointed Thomas to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia. Judge Thomas believes in fairness for all Americans. He told the Senate Judiciary Committee last year, "The reason I have become a lawyer was to make sure that minorities, individuals who did not have access to this society, gained access to include those who have been excluded." Believe me, Thomas speaks from personal experience. And Judge Thomas won't legislate from the bench. I know he's a judge committed to the fidelity of the Constitution and judicial restraint. He has demonstrated that he will not legislate from the bench, but will interpret the Constitution as it is written. Judge Clarence Thomas will no doubt bring a new perspective to the Supreme Court -- one that will enrich the nation in the long run. I'm Bobbie Kilberg. 2 DRAFT Luthringer Draft One 7/24/91 AG. PROPOSED PRESIDENTIAL REMARKS FOR PUBLICATION IN SETON HALL CONSTITUTIONAL LAW REVIEW It is an honor to write this tribute on behalf of America's chief law enforcement officer, and my friend, Attorney General Dick Thornburgh. Each year, the Seton Hall Journal recognizes a prominent individual of the legal profession. Most recently, Justice William Brennan, Jr., wrote about the accomplishments of the Honorable John J. Gibbons, who recently retired after a distinguished career as Chief Judge of the United States Court of Appeals for the Third District. This year they honor another distinguished American, the Attorney General of the United States, Dick Thornburgh. I have known and worked with Dick for a long time. He has led a notable and productive career in government service. And his challenge has been one of America's toughest: To retake our streets and make our neighborhoods decent and safe. His accomplishments have been, and continue to be, distinguished. During his tenure as Attorney General, the Justice Department has made great strides in the prosecution of violent crime, drug trafficking, white collar crime, environmental crimes and civil rights violations. One of Dick Thornburgh's success stories is the work of the Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Forces and the Asset Forfeiture Program. The number of defendants charged has increased by 56 percent over the six-year lifetime of the task force, with convictions up by 64 percent. And $1.36 billion in properties and cash were seized during 1990 -- $200 million of it shared with state and local governments. The A.G. also held an unprecedented crime summit, bringing together more than 650 federal, state and local law enforcement officials including judges, citizen organizations, correctional officials and victims' groups. Here, ideas were exchanged including "Project Triggerlock," an effort aimed at identifying armed violent offenders and prosecuting them to the maximum extent of the law. No probation, no parole and no plea bargaining. The results: indictments have been returned against 847 defendants in violent crime cases involving firearms, and seventy-six have been convicted. But where the Justice Department has made gains keeping violent criminals off our streets, Congress has put up a roadblock: Their reluctance to pass my Crime Bill. It is difficult for the American people to understand why Congress can't pass a bill to fight crime. Today I say again, only with a crime bill can punishment for criminals be guaranteed and final. In the area of white collar crime, Attorney General Thornburgh has made great advances in cracking-down on fraud in savings and loans, defense procurement, and HUD. Most impressive is that of 400 cases involving financial fraud, the Justice Department handed down 385 convictions. It has also been vigorous in its debt collection program -- recovering and returning to the Treasury over 2 $3.9 billion since 1982. Fighting environmental crime is also one of the AG's success stories. In 1990, he has brought 134 indictments against "midnight dumpers" and their white collar cohorts, and ordered Superfund toxic waste clean-up at various sites valued at more than $1 billion. And finally, the Attorney General is in part responsible for one of the most significant advances this country has made in Civil Rights: The Americans With Disabilities Act. He has also worked diligently to investigate hate crimes. Assisted by the passage of the Administration's Hate Crimes bill, the number of those prosecutions has nearly tripled in the last three years. And Dick Thornburgh worked with the White House to expose the 1990 Kennedy- Hawkins Civil Rights Act for what it was: Nothing short of a quota bill. Dick Thornburgh has brought the same credibility and perspective to his role as America's highest-level law enforcement officer as my nominee for the Supreme Court will bring to the nation's highest court. The law community knows Judge Clarence Thomas is a jurist who is deeply concerned with the rights of people of all races. Clarence Thomas is a man who has stood up to adversity in the past and overcome it. He is a man born to a humble and poor family who has risen to extraordinary heights in government. His grandparents were disciplined, deeply religious people who instilled on their grandson the values of hard work, compassion, and self-reliance. 3 Judge Thomas has worked in all three branches of government and has already been confirmed by the Senate on four different occasions: 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. This nation will be enriched by his being confirmed again, this time to a lifetime appointment to the highest court in the land. Thank you for this opportunity to honor Dick Thornburgh, a man who has met his challenge and whose leadership has put us out front in the fight against organized crime, drug trafficking and the deadly tide of violence that follows in its wake. GEORGE BUSH 4 UNITED The White House Office of Public Affairs 1111 o Administration Wire EXCERPTS FROM VICE PRESIDENT QUAYLE'S PREPARED SPEECH TO THE ASSOCIATION FOR A BETTER NEW YORK New York city July 12, 1991 "I certainly am proud to say that I know Judge Thomas, and have for some years. By now, Americans everywhere are familiar with Judge Thomas's background. He was born in poverty 43 years ago, and raised by his hardworking grandparents. His upbringing was one of strong values: faith, compassion, hard work, self- reliance. "Judge Thomas excelled in high school, at Holy Cross College, and Yale Law School. He has served in state government, and in all three branches of the federal government. And he has never forgotten his roots, or the aspirations of less fortunate Americans. In his words, '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.' "Today Judge Thomas sits on the second highest court in the land -- the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit. The Senate confirmed him last year, with only two senators in opposition. On top of that, Judge Thomas was confirmed by the Senate three other times in the 1980s for positions in the executive branch. "Unfortunately, some people are ignoring Judge Thomas's credentials, his character, and his successful life. Instead, because they don't believe he shares their political views, they've set out to attack him personally. "The long knives have been drawn. It will be a bitter, tough, but successful confirmation fight.' "The confirmation process won't be easy for Judge Thomas. But he's been through tough times before. Remember: he started at the very bottom in the segregated south. "Some years back, Judge Thomas considered resigning as Chairman of the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission when his opponents were attacking him. He went to his grandfather for advice. And his grandfather told him to 'stick up for what you believe in. That, I am sure, is what Judge Thomas will do. And I believe he will be confirmed." For more information, please contact the Office of Public Affairs at 202/456-2483. Services of Mead Data Central, Inc. PAGE 6 6TH STORY of Level 3 printed in FULL format. Copyright (c) 1991 The Washington Post September 11, 1991, Wednesday, Final Edition NAME: CLARENCE THOMAS SECTION: FIRST SECTION; PAGE A1 LENGTH: 891 words HEADLINE: Focusing on the Personal; Asked About Issues, Judge Talks of Family SERIES: Occasional BYLINE: Fred Barbash, Washington Post Staff Writer BODY: It was, for a time, bait and switch: They baited and he switched. The senator asked about property rights. The Supreme Court nominee talked about his grandfather. The senator asked about entitlements. The nominee talked about the housing project in Savannah where his mother had lived. For her, "it was a move up in the world," he told the senator, "a steppingstone before she could move to something better.' Natural law? It was a theory, said the nominee, and merely a theory, one that could tell us how "my grandfather could enjoy the fruits of his own labor You had people who had to work for $ 3 a day. I told you what my mother's income was. By what theory do you protect that?" "I have pages and pages of quotes where you talk about natural law," said Sen. Joseph R. Biden Jr. (D-Del.), delicately, and "not in the context of your grandfather, not in the context of race, not in the context of equality, but you talk about it in the context of commerce. " Well, Clarence Thomas said as Biden pressed him, "my interest in this area started with a simple question: By what theory do you end slavery and after you end slavery, by what theory ... do you protect the rights of someone who was a former slave or someone like my grandfather, for example The first round: If it was a battle of sound bites, Thomas won it. If it was about symbols, he may have won that too. The senator who got a gentle lecture about entitlement programs ("I remember visiting my mother" in the project where she lived) was one who grew up in mansions, Sen. Edward M. Kennedy (D-Mass.). It was uncertain whether the substance of Thomas's testimony -- or the lack of it -- will sway anyone who might be wavering. His testimony will continue today. Throughout yesterday's first session of his confirmation hearings, Thomas and his backers on the Judiciary Committee played his strongest suit -- his personal background for all it was worth. It was, indeed, probably the most intensely personalized confirmation hearing since the modern turnover began at the court with the retirement of Justice Potter Stewart in 1981. LEXIS'NEXIS'LEXIS'NEXIS Services of Mead Data Central, Inc. PAGE 7 (c) 1991 The Washington Post, September 11, 1991 If the mission of the opponents was to trip up Thomas on his law, they failed. Sherbert V. Verner. He knew it. Moore V. East Cleveland -- the one where the court said they couldn't throw a grandmother out of her home because she was housing her grandchildren -- he knew that too. As a matter of fact, commented Thomas, "that would have had direct implications on my own family He obviously had boned up on the case law. Not so, apparently, on some of the controversial writings -- his own and others' -- that liberal senators wanted to question him about. There, on occasion, his memory failed. He couldn't remember a particular book, or a particular speech in its entirety, he said. He was sure nonetheless that he hadn't spoken approvingly of everything in it -- just parts of it. And, in hindsight, he interpreted some of his earlier pronouncements differently than they sounded. Kennedy pressed him on comments he once made saying there was no need for a Department of Labor or a Department of Agriculture or for other regulatory agencies. Thomas responded that he actually meant that "in a perfect world" there would be no such need. "But this is not a perfect world." How Thomas's elaboration on past comments will play with swing Judiciary Committee votes such as Sens. Howell T. Heflin (D-Ala.) and Dennis DeConcini (D-Ariz.) remains to be seen. Thomas's opening statement said virtually nothing about his judicial philosophy. It was mostly about Pin Point, Ga., where he skipped shells across the water and caught minnows and fiddler crabs. He later moved to Savannah, where he described living in a one-room tenement with a bathroom in the back yard -- "unworkable, unusable." The matter of the outhouse was put to use by Thomas supporters in the hearing yesterday, as well. "I understand this," said Sen. Orrin G. Hatch (R-Utah), choking back tears. "I was born into a family and we didn't have indoor facilities. I'm so doggone proud of you I can hardly stand it." "He grew up without material comforts," added Sen. Charles E. Grassley (R-Iowa). = It wasn't until he was 7 years old that he lived in a home with indoor plumbing." It was the obvious mission of most of the Republicans to steer the questioning away from specific substantive issues. They wanted the Souter Model of a hearing in which the nominee says little and stays out of trouble -- as opposed to the Bork Model, in which the nominee self-destructed in a blizzard of opinions. Several noted that Thomas already had been confirmed by the Senate on four different occasions. No mystery man, he. The Senate has already accumulated 10 boxes of documents -- 36,000 pages -- of Thomas-related materials, Grassley added. Let us avoid "needlessly" lengthy hearings. As is often the case, the nominee himself chose to answer some case-related questions and declined to answer others. No, he said, it would be wrong to LEXIS'NEXIS'LEXISNEXIS Services of Mead Data Central, Inc. PAGE 8 (c) 1991 The Washington Post, September 11, 1991 comment on his views on abortion. But on other still-settling but less controversial issues -- such as sentencing guidelines -- he talked more freely. While the senators, in their opening statements, sought to frame the ground rules for questioning, Thomas ultimately set his own. GRAPHIC: PHOTO, JUDGE CLARENCE THOMAS TYPE: ANALYSIS, NATIONAL NEWS, BIOGRAPHY SUBJECT: SUPREME COURT; JUDGES; U.S. SENATE; CONFIRMATION NAMED-PERSONS: EDWARD M. KENNEDY; HOWELL T. HEFLIN; ORRIN G. HATCH; JOSEPH R. BIDEN JR.; CLARENCE THOMAS LEXIS'NEXIS'LEXIS'NEXIS Tony -- Here's some additional info about the Thomas event. Expect an audience of 1,000 people Acknowledgements are up in air -- no confirmation as yet; although members of Congress and the Cabinet have been invited. Thomas has a lot of family who'll be there. I guess we can acknowledge them as a whole as well as mention his mother, Leola, his wife, Virginia, and son, Jamal. Sen. Danforth is another acknowledgement. The sequence of events, as scheduled thus far, include: invocation, anthem, remarks, and swearing-in by XXXX. THE WHITE HOUSE WASHINGTON August 13, 1991 TO: ADMINISTRATION OFFICIALS FROM: OFFICE OF PUBLIC AFFAIRS 127 OEOB, 202/456-2483 For your use and distribution. The White House Office of Public Affairs Administration Wire Supreme Court Nominee Judge Clarence Thomas Excerpts from Vice President Quayle's Speech to the American Bar Association August, 13, 1991 " When we think about the command of our Constitution's Preamble, to 'establish Justice,' we have to start at the doors to the courthouse, and keep them open to every American. We owe them a system in which they can resolve their conflicts promptly, effectively, and fairly. And from the hundreds of county courts throughout America, to the Supreme Court in Washington, we also owe it to the people to maintain the independence and excellence of the third branch of government. "That is why we view it as so important that the Senate confirm President Bush's Supreme Court nominee, Judge Clarence Thomas. The ABA knows Judge Thomas. In fact, you've already considered his fitness to sit on the federal bench, and found him qualified just last year. And the Senate has confirmed him no less than four times for high positions in the federal government. "As you know, there's been a bit of opposition to Judge Thomas's confirmation from some interest groups. But in spite of their ideological opposition, I'm confident that my former colleagues in the Senate will consider this nomination fairly and on the merits. I think the great majority of Senators will end up agreeing with the former national board chair of the NAACP, Margaret Bush Wilson, who wrote last week that Judge Thomas's 'record will speak for itself and will impress those willing to listen and look beyond misinformed rhetoric.' Ladies and gentlemen, Judge Clarence Thomas is an outstanding nominee. He deserves to be confirmed, and I believe he will be." Annual Meeting of the American Bar Association Atlanta, Georgia For further information please call the White House Office of Public Affairs at 202/456-2483. THE VICE PRESIDENT'S OFFICE Office of the Press Secretary FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE AUGUST 13, 1991 THE PRESIDENT'S COUNCIL ON COMPETITIVENESS AGENDA FOR CIVIL JUSTICE REFORM IN AMERICA FACT SHEET "Overuse and abuse of the civil justice system has become a self-inflicted competitive disadvantage." Vice President Dan Quayle, addressing the American Bar Association. Vice President Dan Quayle today presented the recommendations of the Council on Competitiveness concerning Civil Justice Reform in America. The recommendations embody the Administration's comprehensive plan to streamline the American civil justice system. The Council's report proposes 50 specific reforms to help decrease the costs and time required to resolve legal disputes in the American court system. Many of the reforms incorporate market-type incentives into the procedural system and seek to encourage earlier settlement. None of the reforms would impair substantive legal rights or limit an individual's access to the courthouse. The Council believes that these changes are necessary to maintain America's competitiveness. The Problem: An Overburdened Civil Justice System The report highlights a growing explosion of litigation in American society: - With 70% of the world's lawyers, Americans are much more likely to resolve disputes in courts than citizens of other countries. - Federal district court filings have increased almost 300% over the last 30 years. State court filings increased by more than 1.6 million cases from 1986 to 1989. - It takes over a year to resolve most lawsuits. Delays of 3 to 5 years are not uncommon, and the time required for resolution is increasing. - Every year Americans spend an estimated $300 billion on legal fees, court costs, and individual time and effort in litigation. - Excessive litigation puts America at a competitive disadvantage internationally. The cost of our litigious society is borne by: - Consumers who pay higher prices for goods and services and insurance. - Consumers also suffer when products are not available. Almost half of all U.S. manufacturers have withdrawn products from the market due to liability issues. - Workers who lose their jobs. 1 out of every 7 companies indicates it has laid off employees because of liability issues. - Businesses that have higher costs. Promote Justice for All Americans The Council Report offers 50 recommendations for immediate reform of our civil justice system. These proposals are aimed at achieving the following goals: (a) Swifter Justice -- The proposals will facilitate more timely and efficient handling of cases, including speedier judicial intervention. (b) Reducing Costs of Litigation -- The proposals add new market incentives to the litigation process. (c) Expanded Opportunities to Protect Rights -- "Consumers" will be given a greater choice in the avenues for resolving disputes, including access to less expensive methods than civil trial. (d) Maintain the Integrity of the Justice System -- The proposals ameliorate features that ill-serve both the justice system and competitive goals, such as the present regime of punitive damages and the improper use of expert evidence. Major Reforms Five areas were targeted for major reforms: (a) Discovery -- Approximately 80% of the time and cost of a lawsuit involves pre-trial investigation of the facts. The Council's reforms will discourage overuse and abuse of discovery. (b) Punitive Damages -- Limitless punitive damages discourage settlement by random awards unrelated to actual harm. The Council's proposals restore fairness to this area of the law by placing appropriate limits on punitive damages, bifurcating trials, and requiring clear proof of wrongdoing. (c) Modified English Rule -- The United States is one of the few countries where winners and losers alike pay their own legal fees. The Council's proposals will establish the mechanism in certain cases to make the prevailing party whole by compensating the winner for his or her legal fees. (d) Expert Evidence -- There has been an explosion of "junk science" in our courtrooms. The Council's recommendations will make certain that expert testimony is an objective aid to the courts' search for truth. (e) Multi-Door Courthouse -- Consumers will be given a choice to elect an effective alternative to court adjudication. The Administration is committed to the fair, efficient, and early resolution of disputes. To demonstrate this commitment, the Administration will apply many of the suggested reforms to litigation conducted by federal agencies. The Administration is also undertaking steps to implement the recommendations: (a) Legislation will be forwarded to Congress implementing the federal court reforms. (b) Proposed amendments to the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure and the Federal Rules of Evidence will be submitted through the Supreme Court. (c) Model statutes and rules will be proposed for adoption by the 50 states. These recommendations were prepared by the Council's Working Group on Civil Justice Reform, chaired by Solicitor General Kenneth W. Starr. The Working Group was composed of experts from the Department of Justice, the White House Counsel's Office, the Office of Policy Development, the Office of the Vice President, the Departments of Commerce, Treasury, Energy, and Health and Human Services, the Office of Management and Budget, the Council of Economic Advisors, and the Environmental Protection Agency. The Council on Competitiveness unanimously endorsed the 50 reforms and directed that this Report on Civil Justice Reform be transmitted to the President. THE WHITE HOUSE Office of the Press Secretary For Immediate Release October 18, 1991 REMARKS BY THE PRESIDENT AT CEREMONY FOR SWEARING IN OF CLARENCE THOMAS AS ASSOCIATE JUSTICE OF THE SUPREME COURT The South Lawn 2:00 P.M. EDT THE PRESIDENT: Welcome all to the White House. Mr. Vice President and Mrs. Quayle, a warm welcome. And, of course, to the members of the Supreme Court. And may I simply say that Barbara and I join with you and with all the nation in mourning the loss of Nan Rehnquist, the wife of the Chief Justice. Let me also welcome the many members of the United States Congress that are with us today. Single out but a few -- Minority Leader Dole and Chairman Biden, and ranking member Thurmond of the committee, and so many others. Members of our Cabinet over here and so many friends of Clarence Thomas, who have worked with him here in Washington -- and, of course, I should especially single out Senator Jack Danforth, a man every American would be proud to call friend. (Applause.) And of course, those special guests, the many members of Clarence Thomas's family here today: his wife, Ginnie, son Jamal here in the front row. And Clarence's mother, Mrs. Leola Williams; his sister, Emma Mae Martin; his brother, Myers. His cousins -- it reminds me of Pinafore -- his cousins, sisters, aunts. (Laughter.) But that's the way it ought to be. And all of you, some of whom drove all the way up -- I see a little advertisement over here from Pin Point, Georgia, to be here this afternoon. (Applause.) That's 600 long miles -- but I've got a feeling they might have driven 6,000 miles to be here today. People from far and wide -- from all walks of life, all levels of education and income -- have come here today in testament to the character of Clarence Thomas. But what brought you here is also something more: the power of the American ideal -- the values of faith and family, of hard work and opportunity. These are the values that unite us all -- that give America meaning. America is the first nation in history founded on an idea: on the unshakable certainty that all men are created equal. When we ask our Justices to uphold the Constitution, we entrust to them the laws that give life to our principles. Clarence Thomas now joins the distinguished ranks of jurists to whom we entrust this sacred task -- who, in the stark and simple phrase of Chief Justice Marshall, tell us "what the law is.' I said when I nominated Clarence Thomas that this man is a fiercely independent thinker, with an excellent legal mind, who believes passionately in equal opportunity for all Americans. Since then, the whole nation has learned that the passion and the intellect and the independence of mind all spring from a single source: an inner strength stamped on his character long ago, when he walked the dirt roads of Pin Point. Clarence Thomas comes to the Supreme Court having worked in the private sector -- having served in state government and in MORE - 2 - every branch of federal government. Each position will serve him well on the Court -- sharpening his vantage point on the many questions that come before him. These are the man's qualifications. They are not the same as his experience. Clarence Thomas knows firsthand the searing hate and sting of segregation. He knows the cold face of indifference -- the unthinking cruelty that tells some men and women that society expects little of them -- and offers even less. But Clarence Thomas would not be here today if there were not more to his story. He's known his share of the joys of life: the love of family, the devotion of friends, the kind gestures from people committed to decency and fairness, to justice and to the American Dream. Clarence Thomas has endured America at its worst -- and he's answered with America at its best. He brings that hard-won experience to the High Court, and America will be better for it. So let me say to everyone here: Don't be overawed by the solemnity of this moment. Celebrate this day. See what this son of Pin Point has made of himself. See how he makes us proud of America -- proud of all that is best in us. In just a few moments, we will bear witness as the oath of office is administered to our nation's newest Supreme Court Justice. Before we do, let me say on a personal level, America is blessed to have a man of this character serve on its Highest Court. Clarence Thomas -- Mr. Justice Thomas, congratulations. And now I'd like to ask Justice Byron White to administer the oath. (Applause.) (The oath is administered.) JUSTICE THOMAS: Thank you all so much. This is wonderful. Mr. President, Mrs. Bush, Mr. Vice President and Mrs. Quayle, Senator Dole, and all my friends and all the members of Congress, Justice White and my future colleagues, and all my wonderful family members, friends, supporters and those who helped. Even as I am joyful at this event, I am deeply saddened by the death of Mrs. Rehnquist, and I join in the heartfelt condolences to the Chief Justice and his family. Since that bright, sunny day in Kennebunkport July 1, there have been many difficult days as we all went through the confirmation battle -- and I mean we all. But on this sunny day in October at the White House, there is joy -- joy in the morning. (Applause.) I thank almighty God. I thank those who stood along the road of 43 years of my life from Pin Point to the Supreme Court, from 1948 to 1991. I thank my mother and my father; my wonderful, wonderful grandparents; the nuns; my relatives; my neighbors; my friends -- all who insisted that I make something of myself. And all who stood ready to help me do just that. I thank America for the ideal, the opportunity and the reaffirmation of so much that is good about our great country. I thank my wonderful wife and my funny son. (Laughter.) My wife is my best friend, and over the past 110 days, we have been brought closer together, our love has been strengthened, and we have become better people. - 3 - Today, now, it is a time to move forward. A time to look for what is good in others, what is good in our country. It's a time to see what we have in common, what we share as human beings and as citizens. It is a time to look for solutions rather than exploit problems. In the words of Sir Winston Churchill, "Let us go forward together." I close this process, this long and enduring process, as I began in Kennebunkport. Only in America could this day have been possible. I thank you all and may God bless you. (Applause.) END 2:22 P.M. EDT

nara / coll_gb-spe / doc

Swearing-In of Clarence Thomas 10/18/91 [OA 8330] [4]

ID: 323153604
Type: document

Citation Image

Metadata

id	323153604
sourceUrl	https://catalog.archives.gov/id/323153604
contentType	document
identifierLocal	13777-001
collections	Records of the White House Office of Speechwriting (George H. W. Bush Administration) Speech Backup Chronological Files
iiifBase	https://s3.amazonaws.com/NARAprodstorage/lz/presidential-libraries/bush/gb-spe/speechwriting_backup_chron_579003/41-bpr-speech-backup-chron-13777-001_323153604.pdf
thumbnailUrl	https://s3.amazonaws.com/NARAprodstorage/lz/presidential-libraries/bush/gb-spe/speechwriting_backup_chron_579003/41-bpr-speech-backup-chron-13777-001_323153604.pdf
largeImageUrl	https://s3.amazonaws.com/NARAprodstorage/lz/presidential-libraries/bush/gb-spe/speechwriting_backup_chron_579003/41-bpr-speech-backup-chron-13777-001_323153604.pdf
imageCount	1
hasImages	yes
source	import

Additional Source Fields

url	https://catalog.archives.gov/id/323153604
naId	323153604
levelOfDescription	fileUnit
recordType	description
ocrSource	nara-archive

Pages

Page 1 OCR

Survos folio item chat

Ask the Scholar

Scholar Source Context