This is a post which I have wanted to write for a very long time,

[PCIntern]

Last edited Fri Mar 25, 2022, 11:02 PM - Edit history (1)

but was always hesitant to do so.

My baby daughter was born into the Clarence Thomas hearings and presciently, I wound up recording the entire ordeal on VHS tape all those years ago. I had set the VCR on super long play and ensure that the tapes were changed during breaks and I have every televised word from the network.

The reason I had done this in this fashion was that I somehow felt that this was going to be a very important moment in United States history given the politics of the age, benign by comparison in those days, and that I wanted my daughter at some point to watch this entire event and how it unfolded on Television . When the Anita Hill story broke I felt that I was vindicated in my peculiar quest and ensured that my efforts were completed without fail.

But that is not really the subject of my post, simply the prologue. I recall distinctly watching the nominee’s face as things got worse and worse and I thought to myself that he is now a changed man. He has evolved from whatever bureaucratic toadying Republican individual into a “vengeance is mine” lifetime mode. I remember watching his wife’s body language sitting behind him, and noting to myself that she was this really angry beyond all human comprehension and the way that she and her husband had been treated, fairly or unfairly. I also remember thinking that if he or she had any chance to avenge himself or herself for what they would consider these public airings of embarrassing truths, he would exact that vengeance upon any group or individual who had perpetrated this, who assisted the opposition, or even had a negative political position in his regard.

This man has spent the last 30+ years on the bench attempting to destroy virtually everything that has been achieved since and including Roosevelts new deal. This is not ideology, but a punishment exacted upon a society which demeanedhim on international television. What is somewhat unexpected is his wife’s participation to such a degree in these fringe movements which are evolving and growing so quickly that they will lose that appellation shortly if they have not already.

By no means am I defending one iota of this man, his character, his wife, or the conspiracy against the United States of America. I am simply saying that the process which manifested itself all those years ago will have contributed to the degree of his hatred of all things which we here at DU would describe as moral and the true American values. What happens next in this remarkable tale is anybody’s guess.

[FakeNoose]

1. Just curious: Have you ever shown those tapes to your daughter?

I hope at least some of the younger generation are paying attention, and figuring out where this is going. Or where it MIGHT go if we aren't careful.

[PCIntern]

2. Yes...limited,

Fast forwarding through most parts.

[hlthe2b]

5. By the way, I don't know if you knew, but the entire transcripts are available. Might make finding

the pertinent sections easier to locate.

https://www.senate.gov/reference/Supreme_Court_Nomination_Hearings.htm
(scroll down to Thomas)

[PCIntern]

7. I did not think of that...

Thank you!

[BumRushDaShow]

27. CSPAN actually has all the hearings recorded and available in their Video Library

and during the Brown-Jackson hearings, they were promoting the fact that they had those hearings beginning with Raygun's nominees (when they first came into existence) to the present.

Link to their video library - https://www.c-span.org/quickguide/

And this is their link to all of their recorded confirmation hearings (grouped by Justice) going back to Rehnquist - https://www.c-span.org/liveEvent/?confirmationhearings



(and as a note, my mom was a CSPAN junkie and it taped too - I have many of her tapes and may still have it in the basement somewhere in one of the cabinets where I have tapes stored... I know the Operation Desert Storm one is down there somewhere... )

[CrispyQ]

48. Great info!

Thanks for posting!

[BumRushDaShow]

54. You're welcome!

They have a treasure trove of videos (they control the cameras for the congressional sessions/hearings)!

[PatrickforB]

33. You could also get the VHS transferred to CD for a minimal fee.

Cause that tape could break at any time.

[A HERETIC I AM]

37. Thumb drive.

CD’s are going the way of the VHS tape soon enough.

[PatrickforB]

41. I am an old fogie, I admit. Maybe the cloud?

But you're right - if you have it on a thumb drive then you have it. Problem with a thumb drive is that it can become corrupt and you can lose the files on there, which has happened to me.

[Gaugamela]

3. I suspect that resentment runs in his veins. That's why he harassed women in the first place.

He probably thought going into his confirmation hearings that he was finally getting the recognition he was due, and then all his chickens came home to roost in the Senate chamber. He set himself up for it.

[Dustlawyer]

49. As someone in an interracial marriage I want to see Clarence and Gianni respond to

the new (again) RW movement to ban interracial marriage. I say Ginny and Clarence divorce first!

[hlthe2b]

4. I only saw bits and pieces of the hearings but it was a deeply depressing episode to me

and stayed with me throughout my professional career in which I encountered my share of despicable types in a heavily male-dominated field. So early on, I heard Anita Hill and it rang with truth and sincerity. But over the years that kind of behavior was like many a neon light--predictably easy to spot, but cheap and kind of disgusting. Frankly, my generation didn't come up with any better solutions than Hill had... And we faced many of the same kinds of consequences for even trying.

Yes. Thomas has self-entitled victimhood syndrome down pat and I'm quite certain it isn't just a response but a deep-seated belief at this point. And yes, like the ultra "wounded" narcissist, Donald Trump, Thomas has lived his life with an eye to vengeance and retribution. Maybe not 24/7. But most of his worthless life. Gini Trump. Oh, gawd, I hardly would know where to start with her. But one of the better psychiatrists would have a field day with and write volumes about her.

[Hekate]

6. Interesting. I did not notice his expression then, only Anita Hill's & the way she was treated...

It was always “Judge Thomas” from the committee, and “Miss Hill” from the same men. As a woman, I was incensed — she was at the time a professor and “Doctor Hill” or “Professor Hill” would have been appropriate.

Over the years, tho, I’ve watched Silent Clarence’s face become grimmer and ever darker. Something has been eating him— and I’m sure you are right.

[PCIntern]

9. It was extraordinarily painful to watch

I knew she was telling the truth because first of all, she had absolutely nothing to gain professionally or personally by doing this, and second of all you could just tell that he was that kind of guy, smug and entitled and exploitative. I’ve spent my entire life employed from the age of 12 and these guys were a dime a dozen. There is a whole art form of single panel men’s cartoons which are basically Clarence Thomas and the woman who is willing or unwilling to accept his advances. He certainly did not invent this but he absolutely ascended to a great height despite it.

[Hekate]

10. Yes it was painful. And then we got Christine Blasey Ford vs Boof Boy. Her life was threatened...

She couldn't go to work, her kids’ lives were disrupted, and she had to move more than once.

Nobody does this for a lark. Both women were extraordinarily brave and self-composed, and the end result was — two unqualified male Justices appointed for life.

[yardwork]

56. I believe both Hill and Ford for numerous reasons.

Certainly one reason is that neither had anything to gain and lots to lose by coming forward.

[halfulglas]

18. I remember how it was played up for publicity among ordinary black men as an attack.

Many were very angry at this "attack on a brother" who had a chance to make it to the Supreme Court. Many thought even if it was true she should keep her mouth shut.

[yardwork]

57. I remember people saying horrible things about Anita Hill.

It was a stark example of sexism.

[Beetwasher.]

8. It's All One Piece

Yup.

[dchill]

11. You are correct, sir.

[multigraincracker]

12. Now look for some Long Dong Silver tapes

to go with em.

[Bobstandard]

29. Great shot!

Hilarious germane reference! I choked on my beer!

[Pepsidog]

13. I did the same thing when we went to war to get Iraq out of Kuwait. Now my daughter is a medical

device rep for Medtronic (great company) and last week my oldest son matched into a Orthopedic Surgery residency program, and my other daughter graduated nursing school and got her first job as a labor and delivery nurse. My younger son took the LSAT a couple of weeks ago and wants to follow in the footsteps of me and my father. Anyway, off topic but your post made me recall my wife and I running home to put the news on about the first Iraq war and I taped it as she was pregnant at the time. I figure I would show it to her one day. Forget that, we have thousands of real pictures, miles of video tapes and gigabytes of video and pictures of all 4 of my kids entire life. I also vhs taped and spent all night watching the election results in Bush v Gore. I started taping when they called it for Gore then took it back. Surely they were good ol’ days compared to now. It was so nice back then, the internet wasn’t widely available and life was much better as was society in general. My kids have only known the tech world, school shootings, 9/11, financial system collapse, climate change, insurrection, 20 years of war and most recently Trump and the clown show called the Republican Party and the subsequent collapse into insanity of 40% of our fellow citizens. Our entire country needs therapy after this past 30 years.

[Cozmo]

14. Dear PCIntern, love you!

[Pepsidog]

20. Me too PCI Intern. Like to get a recommendation from you for honest

prosthodontist. Here’s a joke: a guy walks into a dental office and needs dental implants. The doctor then hands the patient a treatment plan. Here’s the punchline: “That will be “$60,000” sir. Ok a bad joke, but that is what 2 different dental offices quotes me. I think they sized me up as an attorney who looks successful but gee whiz that’s an awful lot of money. Disgraceful that dental insurance usually covers $1,000 a year which hasn’t changed from the 70’s if I recall correctly someone mentioning here. Seeing what my sun is going through just graduating medical school I understand the sacrifice he made and still has to make. After 4 years in Med school he has 6 years residency and fellowship training working 70hours a week making $65k a year.

[crickets]

15. Resentment and vengeance would explain a great deal.

Thank you for posting this, PCIntern. There's a lot of food for thought here.

[Karadeniz]

16. Weren't there other women after Anita Hill to testify against him, but Biden didn't call on them?

[Evolve Dammit]

21. Yes. They were not allowed to testify. NObody makes up pubic hair in Coke, Long Dong Silver, etc.

Anita put it out there and was punished for her audacity. Clarence was and is, a disgusting pig, vile person and should never have been confirmed. Obviously Ginnie digs him and enjoys it all.

[Karadeniz]

26. Sickening. I was unhappy with sacrificing ethics for getting along. Hasn't stood the test of time.

[wnylib]

31. That's what I don't understand. Guys who act

toward women like Thomas does are creepy and make my skin crawl. How could any woman stand to be involved with someone like that?

[Evolve Dammit]

44. No idea. Human sexuality can be a very bizarre thing.

[BComplex]

39. Ginni obviously doesn't have an elevator that goes to the top floor.

She's Qanon to the quick, so you know she has some screws loose.

[yardwork]

58. I don't think Ginni digs it. I think she was horrified.

She coped by blaming the Democrats and that's become her life work. Apparently she was not able to deal with the truths she learned about her husband during those hearings.

[brewens]

17. It would be hard to find anyone that's been around that hasn't worked with a guy like Clarence.

If not, they know someone really well that has. It's a little better now, but creeps like "Uncle" Thomas were a dime a dozen.

I laughed at the poutrage over Anita Hill's accusations. As if such a thing were unheard of with a prominant powerful man like him, when it's exactly the opposite. He was more likely to be guilty because of his stature.

The dead giveaway to me was Hill was able to name the porn stars Clarence had talked about and shown her. Unless you think some democratic operative had anticipated the FBI interviewing her, came up with the plan to smear Thomas and coached her up on that, porn star names are not something a lady like her knows anything about. Nope. All that came from Clarence. Every word she said was true.

[enough]

19. I listened to the entire hearings at the time.

(I was working at a retail plant nursery spending entire days watering plants by hand.) I absolutely agree with you about what those hearings did to him. If he ever had any love for the country to begin with, it had turned to rage by the time those hearings were over. His entire being became an embodiment of that rage and an implacable intention to punish those elements of society who had done this to him. I think his stone cold silence on the court for decades is also connected to this somehow.

All of this makes him the absolutely perfect judicial water carrier for the current Republican Party, as he has demonstrated.

[malaise]

22. And he and his wife never forgave this vote

Biden (D) No

It's still about vengeance

[Quakerfriend]

23. Dear PC you have put into words what

has been lurking in the back of my mind for some time.

And, this is further evidenced by the voicemail left for Anita Hill in which Ginni demanded an apology.

https://www.newyorker.com/news/news-desk/virginia-thomass-message-for-anita-hill

[Meowmee]

24. I think he would have been awful anyway

There is no way to know for sure how much the hearings affected his decisions but they most likely had some influence. He is not very intelligent and did not have the qualifications to be nominated either, he should never have been nominated let alone confirmed which suggests it was based on his political affiliations and beliefs. They are both crazy, that is for sure.

[thenelm1]

30. I remember reading at the time, whether in some column or hinted at in some...

statement from the Bush Sr. admin, that their whole intent was to nominate a minority figure to the court, no matter the qualifications. It was a purely cynical ploy, act of brinkmanship or gotcha play, with the sole intent to box in and dare the Democrats to deny an SC seat to a minority judge. It was a no-win scenario for the Dems. One can only imagine the krap storm from the right that would have followed had Thomas been denied. Unfortunately for the country, the rest is history, and a rubber stamp to any hare-brained rightwing lawsuit brought before the court. (And this bunch has offered some doozies as SC nominees just in my lifetime.)

[haele]

51. The push was for a reliable conservative minority nominee for the Supreme Court.

Considering the last supposedly conservative member appointed ended up being an actual "follow the law" type of judge rather than a pet conservative activist lawyer, they didn't want an actually qualified judge or litigator. So they chose a minority legal bureaucrat with ties to the radical side of the GOP to put a "reasonable,and compassionate conservative" veneer on their pick
At the time, I wondered why they picked a government bureaucrat, even if he did have a law degree and had practiced law at one time, to be a Supreme Court judge. After Bork, I was suspicious of anyone the Reagan-Bush crowd was pushing into power. Especially when the Moral Majority crowd appeared to be okay with him.

Haele

[Meowmee]

65. Yes that was definitely a factor as well...

and the anointing of w followed.

[erronis]

25. I think Clarence Thomas was already a piece-of-work when he went into that hearing.

I really cherish your insights, PCIntern.

I don't think that the questioning and accusations changed his basic character. Nor his intentions to be a tools of the FedSoc.

He may have developed some anger and some old-age life management problems as time passed. But I don't think that he was ever a decent, empathetic, moral person who could fairly listen to arguments and judge them without prejudice.

Covering under the shadow of Scalia was just a convenient cover, not because he was a quiet, reflective, unopinionated juror.

[mountain grammy]

28. The curse of the family Bush

Bastards

[Joinfortmill]

32. If he is wise, he will retire, however I have my doubts. Either way, this isn't going away.

[jcgoldie]

34. I so hope Joe gets a chance to replace him

It would be karmic excellence and allow Joe to rewrite the one episode of his long impressive political career that he probably regrets most strongly.

[BComplex]

40. I've been wishing for that so hard!

It would only be right for Joe to replace this deranged asshole with a REAL and upstanding judge.

[Talitha]

35. I hope Thom Hartmann reads this post and covers it on his program.

Thanks PCIntern, glad you posted it!

[ymetca]

36. What was most odious

to me at least, was why the GOP decided to foist him to the nomination. They had to have known in their vetting the sexual allegations in his past, so it seems a cynical ploy, baiting Democrats with their version of an "affirmative action" candidate, so anyone declaring him unqualified could be immediately pigeonholed as a racist. But he really wasn't qualified for the job.

Thomas was quick to play the race card in all his blustering "high tech lynching" schtick, which really had no bearing on the accusation against him. Like he had that card already stuffed up his sleeve and was just waiting to play it.

When the truth was, and still is, that the only real consideration was his adherence to the cause of destroying all things FDR, as the poster has said.

[noiretextatique]

64. it was a slap in the face to thurgood marshall's legacy, and to black america

and it was done on purpose. i despised bush for nominating this perverted cretin. Even if he wanted a black conservative, he could have at least found one who the ABA deemed qualified.

[Whiskeytide]

38. I agree with you that he's resented Democrats since. But wait ...

… until you’ve seen 30 years of Kavenaugh. He will be worse in his vindictiveness by several orders of magnitude.

[LisaM]

66. I don't know if Kavanaugh will last.

I have always had the feeling his time on the Court will be limited. Some provable scandal is bound to emerge. I could be wrong - but I hope not.

[live love laugh]

42. I think he was already who he is now -- being caught just made him more of that.

As I envision Condoleeza’s comparable scowl; TFG’s; Kavanaugh’s ... the scowl and anger seem to be common bonding feature among these hateful people.

[LetMyPeopleVote]

43. K&R

[niyad]

45. KNR. I think that you are completely correct. Bookmarking for links and memory.

[hay rick]

46. Payback is a bitch.

Ginni and Clarence Thomas wallow comfortably in Donald Trump's like-minded, thin-skinned world of endless grievances.

[Duppers]

47. K&R

[milestogo]

50. I was telling a younger friend about those hearings yesterday.

It was 1991, long before the memory of many alive today. She was horrified that someone who exhibited this kind of behavior in the workplace was on the Court.

[RobinA]

52. I've Always Wondered

about this. I didn't watch the hearings, but I did pay attention to what was going on. At the time, I didn't pay a lot of attention to Thomas, because I considered his type to be a dime a dozen. I paid attention to Hill as well as some of the Senators, for whom that episode was not their finest hour. I never doubted Hill, who would or could make that stuff up? Plus, it just rang true.

When I finally did get a glance at Thomas, I immediately noticed the resentment. I figured it would pass. Couple years later I saw a picture of him and not only had it not passed, it had multiplied to the point where resentment just oozed off of him. It continues to this day to the point where he appears to be consumed by it. I always wondered if it was the Hill episode or if he was always like that. Or maybe some of both. Plenty of politicians have been publicly raked over the coals in embarrassing ways, but they aren't glowering around town decades later. Makes me wonder.

[Jetheels]

53. For anyone to carry hate around for a lifetime,

especially when they have achieved such a high status in their career, some kind of rot was already in place, in their personality, or soul, that was already there, a long time, festering.

[yardwork]

55. Coincidentally, I watched the Thomas hearings holding my newborn son.

I watched every minute. Didn't think to tape it.

I remember thinking the exact same - that the Thomases were hurt beyond belief, that their lives changed. I remember Ginni Thomas's tears. But I'll go further than you - I think the tears and rage stemmed from her realization that her husband was a cheater who watched porn and sexually harassed his employees. I think Gianni's life changed forever during those hearings, and the only way she could cope was to blame liberals. And he had to go along with it.

[DFW]

59. I remember when Nixon nominated G. Harrold Carswell to the Court

He was an outspoken segregationaist, and an awful person, nowhere near the evil intellect of Thomas. Carswell's mediocrity as a jurist was even heralded by a Republican Senator, who actually said with a straight face, not even realizing the message he was sending, that there were a lot of mediocre people in America, and they deserved some representation on the Supreme Court as well. The Senate didn't think so, and 13 Republicans joined 38 Democrats in voting to reject.

Carswell would have been out for revenge if he gotten on the Court, and continued to seek it--mercifully without success--after his rejection.

[Wild blueberry]

60. Valuable insight

Thank you.

[BobTheSubgenius]

61. Their rage was fueled by indignation at the prize they were "entitled to" was in jeopardy.

Although I guess it never really was.

[usonian]

62. I haven't had a can of coke since. NT

[PCIntern]

63. The Coca Cola Company was not too happy...

It created an issue and it was not “good” bad publicity.

[Warpy]

67. I remember enduring those hearings

and I say enduring because it brought up a few horrible memories of shitty treatment of women at my own jobs.

What I took away was how little the abusive treatment of women meant to those men in the Senate, all of them.

It's why I was infuriated by the Kavanaugh "hearings" when they turned to his appalling idea of fun instead of focusing on his curious ability to get out of debt twice when being handed Federal posts and the total lack of vetting that had been done prior to his nomination. I knew now, as I had realized at the time of the Anita Hill hearings, that shabby treatment of women doesn't matter a whit to powerful males.

I would hope the Democrats have learned their lesson, but I sincerely doubt any of them has.