As John Amato wrote back in March, Liberty Central is the right wing "civic organization" headed up by Ginni Thomas, wife of Supreme Court Clarence Thomas. And, as John wrote back then, the idea of the wife of a Supreme Court Justice heading up a Tea Party site is a little on the edge of the ethical line, don't you think? Even in March, it smelled hinky:
I'm sorry, this looks bad for a lot for reasons and to say that they rarely discuss court matters seems absurd to anyone that has had a long term relationship or have been married. And the fact that she's going to take cash from corporations is a big deal. Her marriage to a Supreme Court judge would be very appealing to donors.
Yes, it does look bad and the Federal disclosure reports (form 990) don't make it look much better. 2009: Two donors only. One for $50,000 and one for $500,000.00.
I'm very, very curious as to which individual would believe so utterly and completely in the Tea Party movement that they'd write a check for $500,000.00. That's a pretty big non-tax-deductible contribution for a "person" to make (assuming that a person is really a person and not a corporation parading its personhood, of course).
AlterNet has a theory that goes like this:
Here’s how it works: Tea Party Inc. is vying for control of the Republican Party. One of the biggest players in Tea Party Inc. is the AstroTurfing group, FreedomWorks, which is chaired by former House Majority Leader Dick Armey, for whom Ginni Thomas worked while the former Texas congressman occupied his leadership post in the Republican Party. Thomas also worked at the Chamber of Commerce, a pro-business organization with Matt Kibbe, who is now the president of FreedomWorks. Keeping it all in the family…
It more or less goes without saying that whoever the specific players are, they represent the mainstream heart and soul of the Republican party. My question: Is there a way to link up or develop a relationship between specific power players in the Republican party and Liberty Central?
Sometimes hints hide in the Board of Directors. Here's some verifiable details on some of the members of LibertyCentral.org's board:
- Leonard Leo - One of the so-called "Gang of Four":
The daily conference call, in many ways, is indistinguishable from thousands of others occurring inside Washington's beltway, but with one big difference: This one is shaping the Republicans' nomination strategy for the Supreme Court and, in consultation with the White House, scripting party-line talking points. The daily call is also the glue for a fragile conservative coalition, from the religious right to the business lobby, that's smoothing the way for President Bush's nominee to replace Justice Sandra Day O'Connor.
The men, who have been dialing in since 2003, have come to be known as the "Four Horsemen": C. Boyden Gray, Edwin Meese III, Jay Sekulow, and Leonard Leo. Hand-picked by the White House for their ties to disparate conservative groups, they have been instrumental in helping the president name strict constitutionalists to the federal bench--and now they hope to do the same on the nation's highest court. "We've been waiting for this for four years," says Sekulow of the American Center for Law and Justice. And so the Four Horsemen are galloping into this confirmation fight.
"This" was Chief Justice John Roberts, of course. Isn't it strange that a close associate of the religious right, the business lobby, and a Supreme Court justice can sit on the board of that very same Supreme Court Justice's wife's Tea Party organization and there's no potential conflict of interest?
Leo LeopoldLeonard Leo is also head of the Federalist Society's judicial branch organization. He likes to claim they're just a good old debating group but of course, they're much, much more than that. Citizens United and the current reactionary court majority can be laid right at their doorstep, courtesy of Leopold with the assistance of Meese, Gray, Sekulow and Bozell contingent. - Matt Schlapp - Well, now, what a fascinating bio overall. Matt Schlapp is George W. Bush's former political director, one of the Miami "Riot Squad" members, and a lobbyist at Cove Strategies, a Washington DC lobbying firm. Cove Strategies' clients include Koch Industries and Medicines Co
But wait, there's more. From the bio:
Matt Schlapp has nearly twenty years of government and corporate experience. Most recently, he served as Vice President of Federal Affairs at Koch Companies Public Sector, LLC where he directed the major federal strategies for it and its subsidiaries with a focus on environmental and energy policies, financial markets, legal reform, and international and domestic tax issues.
Every principal of Cove Industries is either a former Bush administration official, Koch Industries executive, or both.
- Tracy Price - There is a Tracy K Price, CEO of The Linc Group, a company that miraculously rose from the ashes of Enron. The treasurer of Liberty Central is listed as Tracy Price, but there is no clear link between the two, so I don't think any inference or relationship can be drawn at this time.
- Bob Russell - I couldn't find any specific information tying a specific person/organization with this person. A common name, and there are many different people in many different walks of life with his name.
- Diann Huber, PhD - Diann Huber is founder of iTeach Texas, Inc, a educator certification company that specializes in online courses. Her link to Virginia Thomas appears to come via Hillsdale College in Michigan. Dr. Huber's son graduated from Hillsdale in 2009, and Virginia Thomas was the Washington liason for Hillsdale until she left to begin Liberty Central in November 2009. Hillsdale College receives funding from the Coors family, the Olin Foundation, the Prince family and the other usual large Republican donors.
The strongest ties on the board lead straight to Koch Industries, FreedomWorks, and Americans for Prosperity, which makes some sense given their ties to the Tea Party movement. What I find most disturbing about it all is the second degree of association to Citizens United via the right wing Koch/Coors/Olin organizations. Citizens United is the granddaddy of conservative smear organizations, and Floyd Brown, its original President (before David Bossie, Lee Atwater acolyte took the helm) wants to impeach this President because he doesn't like him very much.
And of course, it was Citizens United's case before the Supreme Court that opened the floodgates for corporate contributions to influence elections.
In review:
- Virginia Thomas is Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas' spouse.
- Virginia Thomas is on record as calling our current President a "tyrant" (see video at the top)
- Virginia Thomas is the President and Founder of Liberty Central, a conservative organization which lists FreedomWorks as a "friend of Liberty Central" and "Coalition Partner".
- At least two directors of Liberty Central have strong direct ties to Koch Industries.
- One director had direct input to the Bush administration with regard to the selection of John Roberts and his elevation to Chief Justice of the Supreme Court.
- Liberty Central will directly benefit from the Citizens United ruling as a recipient (past, present or future) of undisclosed corporate donations.
- Justice Thomas supported the Citizens United decision.
Based only on these facts, shouldn't Clarence Thomas recuse himself from all proceedings concerning Citizens United or affiliated organizations, and shouldn't his refusal to do so be grounds to call for his resignation, retirement or impeachment?
Who would like to bet on where the seed money for Liberty Central came from? In the long run, whether it was Koch money, or the DeVos family, or someone else really doesn't matter. The names change, but they're all highly partisan, highly conservative, and willing to spend whatever they must to defeat the middle class in this country.
...in so many ways.
Lower the retirement age.
is just fine, if you're a republican.
But anyone else will be prosecuted.
Clarence Thomas was and is a tool for the far right...look at the damage he's done to the Supreme Court. Now the far right has rolled another tool...his wife. These people have no shame.
who appointed Thomas?
George H. W. Bush wasn't a right-wing president?
Somebody thinks the guy is Clinton's fault.
Even if we COULD connect the dots and prove that the shortest distance between two points is indeed a straight line, WHO WOULD CARE? What are we gonna do? Take it to the Supreme Court?
"Trust no one, Mr. Mulder." - Well-Manicured Man
"...soft tyranny, hard tyranny, he has driven it into me so many times...."
Said in reference to Mark Levins book of the same name.
Ewwwwww.
Generally speaking I don't trust anyone making over 150K a year.
of hard expectations?
"I mean Romney is the most conservative on illegal immigration and I don't think Ronald Reagan could get elected in California today."
Ann "Clipped" Coulter
Man, Freud would have a field day with that quote.
If you have selfish, ignorant citizens, you're gonna get selfish, ignorant leaders.
George Carlin
...is this country broken beyond repair?
The wingers on the Court have done incredible damage to the Court, while furthering their right wing political agenda, but eventually all justices retire or die and can be replaced. Sadly, there is some question about the likelihood of great jurists (of any political stripe) being appointed and confirmed in the future.
Democratic presidents opt for centrists, who laughably end up being called "liberal" because the Republicans have been so successful getting extremists confirmed.
In the end, is the court broken beyond repair? I'm certain I won't live to see the court regain its credibility -- but then I'm getting along in years. My heart goes out to younger progressives who will have to suffer through future court decisions that will continue to favor gun nuts and corporations. I guess we'll have to wait for a Republican president to screw up and appoint another Warren as Chief. I'm not holding my breath though, because to do that would require that a Republican president choose a moderate without a proven record of corporate friendliness -- and that doesn't even seem imaginable anymore.
... jobs in which what your spouse does should not make a difference and should be unrestricted... but US Supreme Court Associate Justice is NOT one.
So can Clarence be impeached?
What his wife does has no bearing on his job. The moment justice Thomas comes out and says the same things as his wife he would be up for an inquiry.
Yeah well... So when Clarence is dead and gone he will be remembers as one of the worst Justices in the history of the Supreme Court. I'm kind of surprised that this is not brought up more often but he is just a waste of skin.
He's a huge scumbag and one of the worst ever on the SCOTUS.
destruction George W. Bush imposed upon this country....when/if the country becomes a third world country (probably in the near future), we have Dubya to thank....THAT will be his legacy.
And, No....we do not miss you yet.
“The greatest evildoers are those who don’t remember because they have never given thought to the matter, and, without remembrance, nothing can hold them back,”
Hope missed all the likely exits...
Change was taken off the table....
Cheney leaves his man size safe free to roam the streets at night to prey on victims identified in daylight by his daughters...
Therefore I will not particiapte until their is a Green or other approriately colored candidate for me to announce I voted for after we let them back in the front door.
"I mean Romney is the most conservative on illegal immigration and I don't think Ronald Reagan could get elected in California today."
Ann "Clipped" Coulter
And cynicism isn't a ticket out. We have to do the hard work inside a system that isn't biased in our favor. Opting out only benefits the right.
You're correct, Karoli -- that's what they want us to do. It's so much easier to fleece sheep when they just lie down and shut up.
The thing is, Clarence Thomas won't be remembered for anything at all. Apparently he sits on the bench, asks no questions, writes no majority opinions. Probably the most unremarkable man ever to call himself a Supreme Court justice. I've always felt that Thomas' appointment was a slap in the face of Thurgood Marshall. It's as if the GOP said "Hey, the Liberals want a black guy on the Supreme Court, let's give 'em one." Hence, we end up with Uncle Thomas.
If you have selfish, ignorant citizens, you're gonna get selfish, ignorant leaders.
George Carlin
thomas never talks. he just makes preplanned rulings.
I'm not saying this is the case, but hypothetically, if it can be shown that the payments went to his wife as a proxy in order to buy Thomas' votes from the bench, that's an impeachable offense. Supreme Court justices are not above the law.
Don't try to confuse the issue with half-truths and gorilla dust.
After eight years of imposing tyranny these slanderous chumps quote Mark Levin.
I'll bet Justice Thomas is a fan of that rude and disgusting little man Levin as well.
Whores who appointed Bush. Nothing will ever change without electoral reform.
Electoral reform will be found to be unconstitutional. GET WITH THE PROGRAM.
seems to be some confusion of names... just me?
I can hear my mom yelling at me to PROOFREAD stuff I write at 3am. :D I've fixed it.
It must be a rethuglican plan to f us, once again, and again.
if the people in this country wake up and start to pay attention. Americans are so dumb and so under-informed, that their ignorance and apathy is the real crime. We are sitting ducks waiting to be taken advantage of. Knowledge is the ultimate power that incites action. The MSM spews mostly drivel. It is usually just the Washington DC edition of Entertainment Tonight and never the crux of what is being done to the people and who has sold out for campaign cash. If the population knew 1/10th of what was being done to them, they would be in the streets. Sadly, Americans have had it decent for so long, they simply aren't at all engaged. They expect someone else to take care of the country and that apathy makes it EASY for pepole like Mrs. Thomas and all the other people with political power. We are being shafted in broad daylight right under our noises and most people have no clue.
that their ignorance and apathy is the real crime."
Thank you, Ronald Reagan. THAT was the start of the real dumbing down of America....he eliminated free college education in California because the Rethugs didn't want the peasants getting smart..they might figure out that they were being royally screwed by their Conservative government. Ever since then, the Rethugs have waged war on public education and higher learning....demonizing "intellectuals", all the while getting ivy league educations for THEMSELVES. They demonized unions, the one organization that promoted the success of average Americans, as "communistic", managed to brand "liberals" (a term that means open-minded and concerned for the common good) as the devil's spawn, all the while expanding government with cushy, no-work jobs for their relatives and friends, and drained the U.S. Treasury starting unnecessary wars while giving tax breaks to big corporations and tax cuts to millionaires and billionaires.
I will go to my grave wondering WHY those who deem themselves conservatives and Republicans, among the American populace, continue to vote against their own best economic interests by putting these thieves and charlatans in office. Instead, they should be putting them in jail.
“The greatest evildoers are those who don’t remember because they have never given thought to the matter, and, without remembrance, nothing can hold them back,”
It was always interesting to me about how terrible the universities were as a hotbed of dreaded liberalism! Frankly, my impression was that it was only by being at least somewhat openminded that higher education could ever happen.
I'll be borrowing this...
"the Washington DC edition of Entertainment Tonight"
I was about half way through this post when it hit me, this reads like Karoli's work. I scrolled back up and sure enough.
Amazing piece of investigative work and so frustrating to see how they have worked the system to do damage that can't be undone for a long time to come if ever.
Say what you mean. Mean what you say. But don't say it mean.
Amazing what things read like when there is actual work behind it.
"I mean Romney is the most conservative on illegal immigration and I don't think Ronald Reagan could get elected in California today."
Ann "Clipped" Coulter
Exactly and it's damned informative too.
Say what you mean. Mean what you say. But don't say it mean.
n/m
At least they're not "activist" judges!
Rush Limbaugh is what a smart person thinks a stupid bigot sounds like.
It's virtually impossible for conservatives to be activist judges because they rule with the values of our forefathers and real God fearing Americans.They are the patriots defending us from evil and impurity.
To steal one of their phrases, I'm real tired of them cramming their idea of America down my throat.
But 59 seconds was all I could take of this utterly insane bullshit!
I think I got to 32 seconds or so.
...was off spouting anti-administration rhetoric against a sitting president? Maybe it's happened...but it seems so wrong.
My first reaction to this woman is "she has that same shit eating grin and empty sounding voice that is so characteristic of reich wingers and teabaggers". Am I just imagining?? Maybe.
This is sad. This is really sad. And to have vannity interviewing her is just about as sad as having the devil himself with a 5 year old sitting on his lap......sick!
Draw a picture or cartoon connecting these pieces like a big tree or 100 piece puzzle. Then the T-baggers might finally get it.
Its the Republicans who are the enemy! Conservatism is a failure, Capitalism with its 'free market' is a negative sum game. Oh sure, complain about the Democrats too. Yeah, they're equally bad - my arse. Yes, some dems are rotten (Blue Dogs) but most aren't. Most are being forced to play this game, the repugs PLAN it that way. They use dirty tricks and traps, they will throw societal good (& you) under the bus for a tactical win. The dems compromise because they are trying to govern, not win at all costs. Know the mindset: the more we waffle in our support of dems, the more they feel like they need to compromise to gain support of a public who has no confidence in them. Repugs don't care about public support, they don't want to govern, they want to rule - that's conservatism!
Know this, there is no third party white knight who will ride in on his white steed to save us. Armed rebellion has never worked and will not work now. They have driven us into too many parts there is no way to organize on the scale which would make arming ourselves effective anyway. Burying yourself in your house makes you a target of one. Only by political will can we hope to gain anything back. Organize, think community, connect nationwide. Anti-republican is the message - you don't have to agree on much more than that, we can work out our differences after we tame the corporations and smack down the rich - this isn't their country to rule, its ours to live in - freely.
Wish I could draw a picture so everyone would finally get it.
But you're correct, the enemy within the USA are very clearly the corporate cheerleading far right wingers.
Zen, I get it and I know how you are feeling. I sometimes wonder why people seem to miss the fact that big money is not only playing but running the system.
With that in mind I would suggest one change in your plan. Go after the people actually in control. Go after big money and support the people that will cut its power over us down to size. If they will do that and call themselves republican I care not. If they won't do that and call themselves democrats I care not. The bounty of the country should be shared among all willing to contribute to the common good, not redistributed to the wealthy and elite.
you didn't expect the conservatives on the court to keep selling the country down the river for free, did you?
This is just another reason why the Supreme Court has transformed into one of the most regressive institutions in our country. Opening the floodgates to corporate campaign contributions (via Citizens United) was not a victory for the first amendment, but a death knell to the last vestiges of American democracy.
Obama is just another pawn in a much larger game. In order to win the presidency, he had to "play ball." And in order to maintain any semblance of Democratic control of our government, he must continue to "play ball." Virginia Thomas, by herself, is just another pro-corporate ideologue. But she is a symbol of the iron vice that Big Business has placed around the collective testicles of progressives, liberals, unions, average Americans, peace activists, gays, minorities, and the poor. So long as Big Business has disproportionate control over our government (and "disproportionate" is an incredible understatement), very little will change. It is the reason why Obama has been such a great disappointment thus far. He hasn't changed very much because he simply CAN'T change very much in such a system.
why is Thomas still on the bench?
It seems to me that the term "activist judge" begins with the words "Clarence Thomas".
like a cancer, relentless. the tendrils of these people and their sad groups stretch across the whole country. they chip away at anything and everything that they don't agree with, operating on a traitorous edge. the sad thing is that they are winning, and we appear unable to stop them. what will it take i wonder? they know that if everyone could and did vote, they would be history. so perhaps the first order of business is fair elections and campaign finance reform.
We can chip away as well. But it will take a president and congress with balls, and right now we seem to have neither.
Get rid of the R.A.T.S.: Roberts, Alito, Thomas, and Scalia and it won't be.
need a stay in Max. They're dangerous.
That this is the very same sorry excuse for a human being that almost from the moment he was confirmed has been one of th most UNethical Justices we have EVER seen?
Seriously? have we forgotten the sex scandal? the Harassment suite & inquirey that was basicly ignored by the right?
Gods have we really come to THIS?
Remove him for ethical abuses.
Or, do what Repups would do and hire monkeys to fling poop until something sticks.
WikiAnswers has a detailed article about this that you might find useful:
http://wiki.answers.com/Q/Can_a_US_Supreme_Co...
Would he ultimately be pressured to step down? As I see things, sometimes relentless pressure in the face of facts which cannot be denied is enough to make the demand. The problem is, we don't have any mainstream news organization who would amplify the drumbeat.
This woman SLEEPS with Clarence Thomas - that even scarier, it's mind boggling
Woody McBreairty
The Family's historic roll call is even more striking: the late senator Strom Thurmond (R., South Carolina), who produced "confidential" reports on legislation for the Family's leadership, presided for a time over the Family's weekly Senate meeting, and the Dixie-crat senators Herman Talmadge of Georgia and Absalom Willis Robertson of Virginia — Pat Robertson's father — served on the behind-the-scenes board of the organization.
In 1974, a Family prayer group of Republican congressmen and former secretary of defense Melvin Laird helped convince President Gerald Ford that Richard Nixon deserved not just Christian forgiveness but also a legal pardon. That same year, Supreme Court Justice William Rehnquist led the Family's first weekly Bible study for federal judges.
Study the symptoms not the virus...
Watch what happens to Judge Barbara Brandriff Crabb's ruling... the one the Obama administration has appealed.
Do we really know who/what rules this Nation?
Study the symptoms not the virus...
It seems that I have heard nad/or read that Judge Thomas is a ditto-head. It was reported that he tapes Limbaugh's show and listens to it daily.
Is this disturbing or what?
She stumps for the Tea Party and he, a SC judge, listens to Limpy and then they share the same dinner table, bedroom and breakfast table daily. If any of this is true, we the people of the United States are scewed and tatooed and if nothing is done about this we may as well move like sheep to the pasture and bend over.
This is about the scariest situation I have heard about for a free country. We need to be saved.
Here's an update: http://technorati.com/politics/article/a-citi...
The important thing to know is that of that 550,000, she only spent 30,000 on operations and sat on the rest.
-- Jimmy Zuma
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