The Tea Party Hostess
Peter G Cohen
On February 5 the New York Times reports that Justice ThomasÕs Wife Ã'Sets Up A Conservative Lobbying Shop.Ã"
Liberty Consulting, Inc. is the new consulting firm of Virginia Thomas, wife ofÊ supreme court Justice Clarence Thomas, conveniently located in Burke, VA. Her website, libertyinc.co, leads off with the following statement: Ã'With the new ascendancy ofconstitutional conservatism, Liberty Consulting and Virginia Thomas will continue to serve as a visionary insider who sees political threats, opportunities and can marshal resources to restore our nationÕs founding principles.Ã"Ê
Part of the libertyinc.co website is devoted to enthusiastic testimonials by outstanding conservatives and Tea Party leaders, including Donald Rumsfeld and Morton C Blackwell, for their friend Ginni Thomas.
The Times article continues, Ã'Ms ThomasÕs founding of her own political consulting shop....comes a few months aftershe gave up the top spot at Liberty Central, a conservative Web site that she founded in 2009 and that has strong links to the Tea Party Movement....
Ã'Arn Pearson, a vice president at Common Cause, a liberal group that has been critical of potential conflicts at the Supleme Court caused by Ms.ThomasÕs work, said her new position, combined with Justice Antonin ScakiaÕs recent address before a closed-door seminar of the Tea Party Caucus, provided further evidence of Ã'the politicization of the court.Ã"
When examining nominees for the Supreme Court the Senate is usually careful to inquire whether the candidates can adhere to the law, or might show bias to an extreme position. In the case of Justice Thomas it is difficult to imagine that he will not be influenced by his wifeÕs political consulting business. From her advice to new members of Congress on her website, it is obvious that she would like to be the hostess of the Tea Party. It is hard to believe that her justice husband is not invited.Ê