Georgia Democrats: Clarence Thomas Is an ‘Uncle Tom’ Not Deserving of the Same Honors as Jimmy Carter

Georgia Republicans have an idea: They want to erect a statue of Supreme Court justice Clarence Thomas on the state capitol grounds. I confess that I am not a great fan of erecting statues to living men, especially those still in the arena of public service and public controversy, but it is not unprecedented: There is already a statue of Jimmy Carter, who is not only still with us at age 98, but has continued engaging in politically controversial debates. His nephew Jason ran for governor of Georgia as a Democrat in 2014.

Justice Thomas is undoubtedly worthy of honor in his home state, and worthier than many of the most notable Georgians of the past, such as Confederate vice president Alexander Stephens or Senator Richard Russell Jr. Thomas’s life story and career would be regarded as inspiring if the arbiters of such things could see his humanity: his rise from the humblest rural poverty in Pin Point, Ga., his unique position as only the second African American to serve on the Supreme Court, his 31-year tenure on the Court, his prolific and scholarly body of work on the Court, and his unpretentious and good-humored demeanor. Only four Georgians have sat on the nation’s highest court, and two of them had short, undistinguished tenures. The prior long-serving justice, James Moore Wayne, sat for 32 years and stayed true to his Jacksonian roots by remaining loyal to the Union throughout the Civil War (while his son served as a Confederate general), but Wayne left no stamp on the law and tarnished his legacy by joining the majority in Dred Scott v. Sandford. There is little doubt that Justice Thomas is the most distinguished and consequential jurist in the history of Georgia.

Georgia Democrats are not taking this well, with one predictably calling him “Uncle Tom” as if this were still 1915:

“His service is problematic,” said Sen. Nan Orrock of Atlanta. “There’s a cloud over his service … and that cloud continues today.” . . . Sen. Emanuel Jones, a Decatur Democrat who is Black, called Thomas an “Uncle Tom,” saying the justice is like someone who has “sold his soul to the slave master.” “There’s a whole laundry list of positions that Justice Thomas has taken that I find offensive,” Jones said. “Sometimes, when I talk to the majority party, I say, ‘Y’all just don’t get it.’”

It is sad, by the way, that this state representative is so ignorant of history that he not only professes not to know who “Uncle Tom” is but describes the character as someone who “sold his soul to the slave master,” which is exactly the opposite of the hero of Uncle Tom’s Cabin, the first black protagonist in American letters, who literally dies rather than compromise his soul — the one thing no man may own — to a slave master. But never mind: any slur to hand.

Some Democrats even argued for blaming Thomas for not controlling his wife:

“His wife actually encouraged this coup of violence in an attempt to stop the peaceful transfer of power for the first time in our country’s history,” said Sen. Nikki Merritt, a Lawrenceville Democrat.

We can only hope that Georgia not only ignores these bitter and unserious people, but avoids erecting the kind of horrible tribute that was built in New York to Ruth Bader Ginsburg.