Virginia Thomas, wife of Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas, launches 'tea party' group

[Emit]

Justice's wife launches 'tea party' group
The nonprofit run by Virginia Thomas, wife of Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas, is likely to test notions of political impartiality for the court.

~snip~

"I am an ordinary citizen from Omaha, Neb., who just may have the chance to preserve liberty along with you and other people like you," she said at a recent panel discussion with tea party leaders in Washington. Thomas went on to count herself among those energized into action by President Obama's "hard-left agenda."

~snip~

The group plans to issue score cards for Congress members and be involved in the November election, although Thomas would not specify how. She said it would accept donations from various sources -- including corporations -- as allowed under campaign finance rules recently loosened by the Supreme Court.

~snip~

In 2000, while at the Heritage Foundation, she was recruiting staff for a possible George W. Bush administration as her husband was hearing the case that would decide the election. When journalists reported her work, Thomas said she saw no conflict of interest and that she rarely discussed court matters with her husband.

~snip~

Although Liberty Central is a nonpartisan group, its website shows an affinity for conservative principles. Her biography notes that Thomas is a fan of Rush Limbaugh and Mark Levin, author of "Men in Black: How the Supreme Court is Destroying America."

"She is intrigued by Glenn Beck and listening carefully," the bio says.

~snip~

As a 501(c)(4) nonprofit, Liberty Central can raise unlimited amounts of corporate money and largely avoid disclosing its donors.

Because of a recent Supreme Court decision, Citizens United vs. Federal Election Commission, the group may also spend corporate money freely to advocate for or against candidates for office.

Justice Thomas was part of the 5-4 majority in that case.

http://www.latimes.com/news/nation-and-world/la-na-thomas14-2010mar14,0,6505384.story?page=1

[FSogol]

1. If she really wanted to "preserve liberty," she'd encourage her husband to resign. n/t

[fasttense]

2. This is a serious conflict of interest.

Now we know why Thomas voted for unlimited contributions for corporations.

So how much of this money that his wife is collecting is going to line his pockets?

It looks like the Supreme Court has officially put out their FOR SALE sign.

[Catshrink]

3. Roberts wife used to be - maybe stll is - very active in an anti-choice group.

I think she was VP of a national organization. I don't know if she dropped out after her husband's ascension.

[philly_bob]

4. She was on 2000 Bush transition team at time of Bush v. Gore (nt)

[tallahasseedem]

5. Isn't this a major conflict of interest?

I'd be curios to find out.

[Cleita]

6. Who cares about those pesky little ethics and policy issues these days.

We know who the present $upreme Court works for.

[vixengrl]

10. Republican definition of "conflict of interest":

When you are always operating in your own interests, there is never a conflict!

[Emit]

20. lol, vixengrl, that seems about right

[Emit]

7. From Liberty Central's website, a poll

lol

A poll of random online respondents commissioned by Liberty Central.org and Tea Party Patriots finds that new citizen activists have been misunderstood and mischaracterized by much of the mainstream media. This poll of 2,000 online respondents was conducted from January 12-20, 2010 answered by a nationally representative sample provided by Survey Sampling, Inc.

~snip~

Some of the key findings of the poll include:

:redbox: The size of this movement is increasing and it evidences a conservative ascendancy.
:redbox: New citizen activists are increasingly worried that we are losing the core of what makes America great.
:redbox: They are more likely to be consumers of mainstream media, but find most credibility in talk radio, the internet and Fox News.
:redbox: Their key ‘gripes’ are: (1) aloof politicians, (2) biased media and (3) leftist agenda untethered to core founding principles of our nation.
:redbox: Their focus is intensely on 2010.
:redbox: Their demographics are unusually even in terms of age, education and income.

http://libertycentral.org/news.html

[blogslut]

8. Not surprising

She's been a far-right mover and shaker from practically the beginning of her professional career.

[Dont_Bogart_the_Pretzel]

9. Sorry lady, you are NOT an ordinary citizen from Omaha, Neb.

Your husband is on the Supreme Court....for life.

[LiberalFighter]

11. Is any of the funding goining to be used to influence elections?

She needs to be tea partied along with Clarence.

[mfcorey1]

12. Now she can do the dirty work for Clarence that he cannot do because...........

he is a Supreme Court Justice. What has happened to this country? AT one point I thought we were moving forward until people started losing their minds because a black man is President. And no, I am not trying to throw out the race card, but a lot of the angst against government is because of racist who didn't vote for him and who have now been given legitimacy by the mainstream media. The only thing that is saving us from resuging slavery is the democratic majority in the house and senate. And sometimes I wonder about some of them. Please forgive my rant, but I have had enough of this.

[Emit]

13. Virginia Thomas' and Dick Armey's History of Working to Defund the Left

GOP Catch Phrase for the '90s: 'Defunding the Left'

GOP Catch Phrase for the '90s: 'Defunding the Left'
April 23, 1995|By JEFF SHEAR

With its dark legacy of witch hunts and enemies lists, the Republican Party is once again collecting names. In a project coordinated by the office of House Majority Leader Dick Armey of Texas, conservatives are working hard to identify political advocacy organizations that get federal money. And they're obviously not gunning for their ideological brethren.

~snip~

Though still in its formative phase, the "project," as it is sometimes referred to by those involved, will rely heavily on the House Appropriations Committee. Already, the panel has struck hard, pruning funds promised in the fiscal 1995 budget to the Corporation for Public Broadcasting, the National Endowment for the Arts and the Legal Services Corp.

But these three targets are only a small part of a much larger effort run by Virginia Thomas, the wife of Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas and a top adviser to Mr. Armey. A variety of conservative think tanks, chief among them the Heritage Foundation, are helping to identify federally subsidized organizations that influence federal policies.

The office of House Speaker Newt Gingrich has been acting as the liaison between the GOP leadership and various House committees.

http://articles.baltimoresun.com/1995-04-23/news/1995113246_1_liberal-hunt-leadership

Conservatives’ 25-year goal of ‘defunding the left’ revealed by ACORN controversy

~snip~

In 1995, the new Republican majority in Congress took part in a particularly ambitious -- though ultimately unsuccessful -- attempt to defund the left. According to a May 30, 1995 story in the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette (which does not appear to be available online except through subscription-only sources):

"Congressional Republicans -- with the wife of Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas playing a key role -- are preparing a new budget-cutting assault on scores of government-funded nonprofit groups whose liberal views are considered a threat to the conservative agenda. ... The effort, referred to by conservatives as 'defunding the left,' is intended to take aim at what they consider advocacy groups that lobby for liberal social programs from which they receive grants and contracts."

The story went on to say, "Led by Virginia Lamp Thomas, the wife of the Supreme Court justice, a special group of senior House Republican experts and staff members has been quietly working under the auspices of House Majority Leader Dick Armey of Texas. Their aim is to identify nonprofit organizations whose funding should be cut and to plan a strategy to end their grants or contracts with the government or the programs for which they provide services."

Thomas, who was then a policy analyst for Rep. Armey, later went to work for the Heritage Foundation. Armey himself left Congress in 2003 and became the co-chairman of Citizens for a Sound Economy -- one of whose representatives had participated in that same 2001 "Defunding the Left" panel as Morton Blackwell and CRC's Terrence Scanlon. Armey's organization is now known as FreedomWorks and is the principal astroturf backer of the teabagger protests.

http://rawstory.com/2009/2009/10/conservatives-25year-goal-defunding-left-revealed-acorn-controversy/

[Emit]

14. Virginia Thomas: "We all know, that, our side are normal people with families and jobs and real resp

Virginia Thomas: "We all know, that, our side are normal people with families and jobs and real responsibilities."

http://hotair.com/archives/2010/02/18/cpac-virginia-thomas-and-liberty-central/

[WillyT]

15. Meet Virginia... Fucking Nitwit...

:puke:

[tanyev]

16. Hey, that sounds like a political pep rally.

I wonder if Chief Johnny Roberts finds this disturbing, too.

[gratuitous]

18. That very thought occurred to me, too

I'm sure the Chief Justice will weigh in very forcefully on this. Well, very sure. Sorta sure. Okay, he won't utter a peep.

[DeSwiss]

17. "....energized into action by President Obama's "hard-left agenda."

Damn! These stupid Teabaggers, in addition to having no understanding if urban lexicon, they also have no sense of direction! Obama is hardly hard-left!

- No matter how hard we try to push him there.....

K&R

[Bluebear]

19. kick