Joe Biden and Clarence Thomas

[Hawkowl]

Joe Biden bears an enormous responsibility for Clarence Thomas. Joe Biden was chair of the Senate Judiciary Committee which approved the nomination of Clarence Thomas to the Supreme Court and sent it the full Senate for confirmation.

Joe Biden chaired the hearings where Anita Hill came forward, despite intense pressure to keep quiet, and disclosed the despicable lack of ethics of Clarence Thomas' sexual harassment of her. I remember the hearings of 1987 like yesterday. The testimony of Anita Hill was powerful and true. The rebuttal by Thomas was that of shifty-eyed, twitching, lying son-of-a-bitch. He was in no way credible. The harassment being infinitely more egregious due to Thomas being the Chair of the Equal Opportunity Commission (EEOC)!! Which is the federal agency specifically created to hear these types of violations, (among others).

So, in light of all the recent ethical violations of Clarence Thomas that are now seeing the light of day, I call on Joe Biden to attempt to rectify his sorry error of 1991.

Vice President Joe Biden needs to call for the resignation of Clarence Thomas in a prime time press conference detailing Thomas' ethical violations.

Joe Biden needs to express outrage at the betrayal of his personal trust as well as the betrayal of the American people by the dishonorable Clarence Thomas.

[Angry Dragon]

1. Do you mind if I copy and paste this and send it to the Vice-president??

[Hawkowl]

2. Please do.

I plan on phoning him next week.

[murielm99]

3. I remember those hearings, too.

I watched them with my brother, at his apartment.

At that time, he had just gone through some training about sexual harassment. They were training management in his building, because there had been a lawsuit, which his company lost.

My brother felt that Thomas' behavior was classic, in the way he presented himself to Hill, and how it escalated. I remember that many people did not believe her. My brother told me, in a very articulate way, why he did believe her.

Most women know how hard it is to come forward with anything like this. Being ridiculed and mocked by the whole country, as she was, had to be soul destroying. She is a brave woman. She is braver than all the people in our government who will not stand up against him now for his corruption.

[sendero]

20. I heard most of those hearings...

.. and what I left with was that Thomas was clearly a liar and that I would never have an OUNCE of respect for Arlen Specter again.

[Octafish]

4. Seems someone went along to get along.

And We the People are much poorer for it.

For instance: Florida 2000. Seems like everybody in the House and Senate went along then, too.

Gee. It's like there was a gun to their heads or something.

[xphile]

5. Not 87. I believe it was 91. But even then Clarence Thomas' unfitness to be on the

Supreme Court was obvious. Clarence Thomas was accused of sexually harassing Anita Hill while he was the head of the EEOC. The EEOC is the agency that people go to when they are being treated unfairly in the job and the employer doesn't do a damn thing. Did anyone really think that someone who so violates what the EEOC is about would think twice about abusing his position on the court?

You are right Biden bears a huge responsibility for Clarence Thomas he paved the way for that rancid piece of shit to continue to the Supreme Court. He should have killed that bastard's nomination in committee. If I remember correctly it was the Democrats who had the majorities at the time.

[Hawkowl]

9. Correct. 1991

Iran Contra was 1987, no? So many scandals, It's easy to get them mixed up.

[xphile]

6. Dupe n/t

[joeybee12]

7. Clearly the low point in Biden's career...proof that hearings are never about

getting to the truth...everything is preplanned and everyone tries to come out looking "adult." I like a lot about Biden, but this is something I have never forgiven him for.

[iwishiwas]

8. I watched it closely also and recall Biden staicking up for him again and again.

[Angry Dragon]

10. Some have posted here that there were other women waiting

to testify and Biden would not let them

[Hawkowl]

11. Yes

It was widely known at the time. The Senators on the campaign came under intense pressure from the voters not to confirm him, and we were, as usual, ignored. Except this time we made at least one of them pay. I resided in Chicago at the time and we mounted a campaign to replace Senator Alan Dixon (D) because he voted to confirm Thomas. We replaced him with Carol Mosely-Braun.

[cameozalaznick]

18. Not only that...

A wave of women were swept into the senate later that year in reaction to those hearings (Boxer and Feinstein for two).

[DURHAM D]

12. I took off from work and watched every minute of Biden's circus.

I happen to know Anita Hill. I could not believe what I was watching as Biden set it up to be a contest between Anita and Clarence, as if they were both applying for the same job. The men were all determined that she was going to be alone, isolated, and she would be put in her place. The media joined in on the beat down.

I cried for days with anger and frustration. I know her and knew about his behavior at the EEOC for years before he was nominated to the SC. Every female professor and attorney in America knew about Clarence Thomas at the EEOC.

I will never forgive Biden for this. May he rot in hell.

Biden won't say a word, He doesn't want anyone to remember what he did to Anita Hill and forced that unqualified unethical asshole Thomas on us.

rot in hell

[northoftheborder]

13. I followed that whole sorry debacle of a hearing.

Biden was the chair, and definitely controlled who came on to testify, and what was allowed to be said. It is a miracle that Anita Hill got to testy at all. But, as I remember back, when Thomas pulled the racial card, that was the end. The right wing wanted him on the court to be the patsy he has been, and to be against his nomination, because of his race, made it impossible to not let the nomination go forward. I remember being extremely upset about the whole thing. It was so evident to me that he was a devious, slightly deviant, individual, who enjoyed playing his race cards. He's turned out to be worse than I could have known, as an a dishonest, predjudiced, uninformed toady. And all of this unethical behavior about his income and the gifts from people before him in court is just too much.

[tritsofme]

14. Biden's committee rejected the nomination.

It still went to the floor by virtue of being a Supreme Court nomination.

Clarence Thomas to be Associate Justice
Committee voted 7-7 on September 27, 1991, on the motion to send the nomination
to the Floor with a favorable recommendation (motion failed)
Democrats
Chairman Joe Biden (Delaware) - Nay
Edward Kennedy (Massachusetts) - Nay
Howard Metzenbaum (Ohio) - Nay
Dennis DeConcini (Arizona) - Aye
Patrick Leahy (Vermont) - Nay
Howell Heflin (Alabama) - Nay
Paul Simon (Illinois) - Nay
Herb Kohl (Wisconsin) - Nay

Republicans
Ranking Member Strom Thurmond (South Carolina) - Aye
Orrin Hatch (Utah) - Aye
Alan Simpson (Wyoming) - Aye
Chuck Grassley (Iowa) - Aye
Arlen Specter (Pennsylvania) - Aye
Hank Brown (Colorado) - Aye

[Hawkowl]

15. Can't have it both ways

Biden's vote does not reflect the power he had and how he used it for Thomas' benefit. Biden held the hearings. He excluded supporting testimony from several other women. Biden conducted a circus, where he had the power to simply reject Thomas out of hand and NEVER bring it to a vote in committee. No vote, no hearings, no nomination. That is what is happening RIGHT NOW, to most of Obama's nominations, and the Rethuglicans don't "technically" control the Senate (although in actuality they appear to.)

Biden is responsible for letting this nomination go forward. He is responsible for excluding testimony and witnesses that would have clearly established a dishonorable pattern of behavior for this scumbag known as Clarence Thomas.

Just because the Committee split along party lines, and Biden voted against him, doesn't mean Biden didn't support his nomination and bears direct responsibility for shepherding him through the confirmation process instead of easily, very easily blocking it.

Biden needs to publicly demand Thomas' resignation

[ThomWV]

25. So Biden's actual vote doesn't matter to you, only what he could have done differently?

What do you have against Biden?

[Hawkowl]

26. I voted for Biden

So I can say anything I want. See my point yet?

[nonperson]

17. Clarence Thomas's nomination would never have made it to the floor

If testimony of all the women who knew of his disgusting behavior were allowed to testify. Biden stopped them from testifying.

That's the way I remember it and that makes Thomas Biden's fault.

Now Clarence Thomas has several ethical problems and has CLEARLY lied on his income tax returns for DECADES! IT'S TIME FOR JOE BIDEN TO CORRECT HIS MISTAKE AND DEMAND THOMAS' RESIGNATION FROM THE COURT OR DEMAND HIS IMPEACHMENT FROM THE COURT.

It's only fair that the person responsible for Thomas being on the court takes responsibility himself to correct his enormous error.

[The Eagle 718]

23. Thanks for the info nt

[rosesaylavee]

27. Wasn't that Alan Dixon from IL

and not Simon? Dixon lost the next election because of his approval of Thomas' nomination.

This hearing was the spark that woke me up. I listened to all of it on NPR and became a Democrat the next election cycle. Thomas was lying before Anita Hill ever took the stand. According to him, he had never had a thought or discussion on Brown v Board of Education in his entire legal career. A tad unusual for a black man let alone any legal mind suitable for taking a position on our highest court... AND replacing Thurgood Marshall there.

Possibly the worst choice for the Supreme Court ever.

[tritsofme]

32. Dixon supported the Thomas nomination on the floor.

And this played a large part in Carol Mosely Braun's surprise primary victory against him in 1992.

[asjr]

16. I remember it very well and that

is one reason I just can't feel good about Biden. He wanted to play nice and that never works.

[MurrayDelph]

29. Worse than that

he wanted to show off how clever he thought he was (as a former prosecutor), and ended up undercutting the testimony to get more facetime for himself.

[leveymg]

19. Nothing but the threat of criminal prosecution will remove Clarence Thomas. That's why we should be

calling for his indictment by Eric Holder, the US Attorney General, who is the official empowered to convene a federal Grand Jury to obtain indictments for Thomas' violation of 5 USC App, 104, False Statements, a crime that carries one year imprisonment and a $50,000 fine for each violation. There are at least five counts that can be brought against him.

A sitting Supreme Court Justice, like any federal judge, can be prosecuted while in office. No need to wait for Impeachment.

[bemildred]

21. I remember that clown show. I do wonder now and then if Biden feels any regret.

Him and Snarlin Arlen and that tool from Utah (Hatch! that's the one) put on one of the most degraded exhibitions of mal-government I've ever seen.

[OneMadVoter]

One Word: Cosign petition to hold Clarence Thomas Accountable

Here is a letter that has been written by Representative Chris Murphy to hold Clarence Thomas and others on the Supreme Court accountable for possible ethics violations:

http://act.credoaction.com/campaign/murphy_cosigners/?rc=fb_share1

[spanone]

22. some heavy bullshit

[Le Taz Hot]

24. I remember it well.

I watched it almost as obsessively as I did the Watergate Hearings.

[ensho]

28. kick

nt

[underpants]

30. David Brock (Media Matters) openly admits that his book on Hill was an organized hoax

[KoKo]

31. K&R...from another one who watched those hearings and

never got over what Biden did at the last minute to push Thomas through.