The following is from a piece in the Washington Post on House majority whip Jim Clyburn’s role in picking Supreme Court justice Stephen Breyer’s replacement. The included quotes come from Congressional Black Caucus member Bennie G. Thompson:
“Nobody that I’m aware of feels that opposing Clyburn’s nomination would be the wise thing to do,” he said. “If you know that a person has been vetted by Jim Clyburn, you know that person won’t go to the court and end up being a Clarence Thomas,” referring to the Black justice whose rulings often resemble the thinking of White conservatives.
Casual attributions of “white” and “black” ways of thinking to people and accusations that brilliant black conservatives have their wires crossed — we’re just inches away from pulling out the “Uncle Tom” slur here — have made their way out of junk columns on fringe websites and into straight news reporting at the Post.