Posted on 02/03/2010 2:57:49 PM PST by reaganaut1
In expansive remarks at a law school in Florida, Justice Clarence Thomas on Tuesday vigorously defended the Supreme Court’s recent campaign finance decision.
And Justice Thomas explained that he did not attend State of the Union addresses — he missed the dust-up when President Obama used the occasion last week to criticize the court’s decision — because the gatherings had turned so partisan.
Justice Thomas responded to several questions from students at Stetson University College of Law in Gulfport, Fla., concerning the campaign finance case, Citizens United v. Federal Election Commission. By a 5-to-4 vote, with Justice Thomas in the majority, the court ruled last month that corporations had a First Amendment right to spend money to support or oppose political candidates.
“I found it fascinating that the people who were editorializing against it were The New York Times Company and The Washington Post Company,” Justice Thomas said. “These are corporations.”
The part of the McCain-Feingold law struck down in Citizens United contained an exemption for news reports, commentaries and editorials. But Justice Thomas said that reflected a legislative choice rather than a constitutional principle.
He added that the history of Congressional regulation of corporate involvement in politics had a dark side, pointing to the Tillman Act, which banned corporate contributions to federal candidates in 1907.
“Go back and read why Tillman introduced that legislation,” Justice Thomas said, referring to Senator Benjamin Tillman. “Tillman was from South Carolina, and as I hear the story he was concerned that the corporations, Republican corporations, were favorable toward blacks and he felt that there was a need to regulate them.”
It is thus a mistake, the justice said, to applaud the regulation of corporate speech as “some sort of beatific action.”
(Excerpt) Read more at nytimes.com ...
Obama’s attack on the Justices showed a real lack of class.
amen to that.
Thomas is also a black lawyer/judge who actually knows the law...
unlike zero.
He retired the Lack of Class Trophy.
The Tillman connection makes sense as he was one the most fervently racist legislators to serve since the Civil War and openly supported violence against blacks all across the south.
Wow...just WOW.
Amen!!!
Love it!!
We need to pray and hope that these five Constitutional Justices live a long, long time.
He was a wicked man, catered to the lowest common denominator in Southern politics.
Embarassingly, he was born in Edgefield SC so we are probably kin.
I made the same point at O'Rielly last night speaking at the TV. Isn't FOX news a cooperation run by people deciding what editorialized content people hear?
AMEN & A M E N to that. But how so, as we are all deemed racists, doncha know? Oh and yeah, I forgot, Justice Thomas is an Uncle Tom...how stupid of me.
Justice Thomas seems unaware that certain corporations are more equal than others. It's right there in the 1A of the US Constitution.
Well, there’s that. I also remember Ginny Thomas sitting behind him during his committee testimony. If looks could kill, every Democrat on Senate Judiciary would have been dead. Do the Dems really want her in the balcony for the State of the Union?
Clarence Thomas sounds like he is smarter than the average bear. He skipped out on the lying sack of Doo’s SOTU.
Justice Clarence Thomas on Tuesday vigorously defended the Supreme Court's recent campaign finance decision... By a 5-to-4 vote, with Justice Thomas in the majority, the court ruled last month that corporations had a First Amendment right to spend money to support or oppose political candidates. "I found it fascinating that the people who were editorializing against it were The New York Times Company and The Washington Post Company," Justice Thomas said... The part of the McCain-Feingold law struck down in Citizens United contained an exemption for news reports, commentaries and editorials. But Justice Thomas said that reflected a legislative choice rather than a constitutional principle. He added that the history of Congressional regulation of corporate involvement in politics had a dark side, pointing to the Tillman Act, which banned corporate contributions to federal candidates in 1907. "Go back and read why Tillman introduced that legislation," Justice Thomas said, referring to Senator Benjamin Tillman. "Tillman was from South Carolina, and as I hear the story he was concerned that the corporations, Republican corporations, were favorable toward blacks and he felt that there was a need to regulate them." It is thus a mistake, the justice said, to applaud the regulation of corporate speech as "some sort of beatific action."Thanks reaganaut1.
Don’t sweat it. We choose our friends, but have nothing to say about our kinsmen.
Beautiful smack down! I am very glad that this man had the courage and strength to endure the partisan racist attacks on his nomination that the Dem Party waged against him.
I’m fond of Scalia and I have a soft spot for our new additions in Roberts and Allito but I still love Thomas more then all.
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