Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas isn’t winning any popularity contests.
Between his involvement in turning back the clock on abortion rights by striking down Roe v. Wade, to his unsettling concurring opinion in the decision targeting the foundation of contraception and same-sex marriage rights, to that whole messy business with his insurrection-supporting wife, Ginny, the conservative justice has attracted some heavy criticism.
Now it seems he’s heard the verdict in the court of public opinion. On Wednesday, The Associated Press reported that Thomas is backing out of a teaching job at George Washington University, after a massive pushback from students.
Via the AP:
Thomas, 74, has taught at the private school since 2011. He was supposed to lead the seminar with Judge Gregory Maggs of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Armed Forces. Maggs once served as a Supreme Court clerk to Thomas.
Thomas was part of the conservative majority that in late June overturned the Roe v. Wade decision that guaranteed the constitutional right to abortion. In the following days, thousands of students signed a petition calling for the school to sever its relationship with Thomas. But university officials refused.
While Thomas’ invitation to teach remained in tact, the message was clearly delivered. They’re just not that into you.
Twitter is feeling no sympathy, and many wished he was walking off of his main gig, not the side hustle:
Clarence Thomas is retiring from the wrong job.
— John Ales AF (@IAmJohnAles) July 28, 2022
Clarence Thomas will not teach at George Washington University this fall, weeks after a student-led petition sought his removal.
Great. Now get him off the fu@king bench.
— Democracy Over Autocracy! NOTHING MORE!! (@hduverge) July 28, 2022
If you're OK with stripping away people's rights I hope you're o.k being publicly shunned as well and yeah I'm talking to you Clarence Thomas
— Henry Djoutsa ???? Supports?? (@D_jeneration) July 28, 2022
BREAKING: Clarence Thomas was recently forced to back out of a teaching gig at GW due to a student uproar.
BOO HOO!
— Jon Cooper (@joncoopertweets) July 27, 2022
Clarence Thomas just quit his teaching job at George Washington University after student protests and a petition with 11,000+ signatures
He fled the scene even after the university reiterated its support of him
Who’s the snowflake now? ?
— Lindy Li (@lindyli) July 28, 2022
Clarence Thomas quit his teaching position, that he’s held since 2011, because he couldn’t handle students exercising their first amendment rights.
May he never know a moment of peace in public again.
— ???? (@antifaoperative) July 27, 2022
Clarence Thomas taught a class at George Washington Law. After the abortion decision many students called for his removal. The school said it still supported Thomas. But now he's quit. Is Clarence scared to face the music?
— Don Lewis (@DonLew87) July 28, 2022
George Washington University will no longer have Clarence Thomas teaching insurrection 101 from the Ginni Thomas textbook
What a shame
— THE SAD TRUTH (@SmnWeekly) July 28, 2022
abfab
Hello, Log Cabin Queers. He could be your next leader!
Cam
Even more disturbing is that George Washington University would hire two anti-Democracy, bigoted, domestic terror supporting people to teach classes.
You can tell that Universities have a HUGE right wing contingency because Republicans keep screaming about them being liberal, just like they did about media to hide it’s rightward drift.
Kangol2
RepubliQans and right-wingers have funneled money into “free market” and “freedom” institutes at public and private universities to force their ideas upon students, since regular scholarship usually doesn’t align with right-wing cant. Look at most of the most famous right-wing economists, particularly the Chicago school, and then note how useless their predictions about the 2008 economic collapse, or the economic crisis Don the Con created were.
GayEGO
Clarence Thomas should not be on the Supreme Court as he is against human rights!
rand503
George Washington Univ is a very conservative school. They named their law school after Scalia. Lots of rich kids go there. The univ is one of the biggest landlords in the District, owning scads amounts of very profitable commercial real estate. We all joke that it’s really just a real estate firm with a college attached for the non profit status. They could give away free tuition to everyone and they would still be in the black. They charge exhorbitant tuition fees so that parents will think it must be a top school.
IOW, it’s just one huge grift.
Not surprised Thomas is in on it.
woodroad34
Amazing, then, that those same conservatives are pushing back against him. I’ve always thought of Thomas as a bilious and minor jurist, who hides his prejudices with a facade of judicial imperiousness (I feel the same way about crying dough-boy Kavanaugh). Both he and Kavanaugh are better suited on the bench of a traffic court in a bad area of some metropolitan area.
still_onthemark
You got it mixed up with George Mason University (in Fairfax, VA), that’s the one with the Antonin Scalia School of Law (ASSLAW), lol… no I mean the Antonin Scalia Law School.
The law school of GWU is called George Washington University School of Law and it’s highly regarded, or it would be except that William Barr and Kellyanne Conway are graduates!
Kangol2
Yes. George Mason University (in Virginia) is the right-wing school, not George Washington University. In DC, Catholic University of America is also very right-wing, unlike Georgetown University, which is Catholic but also one of the major academic institutions in the city and US.
(And then there’s Washington University in St. Louis, which is a better national and international research university than all four of these!)
dennynova
Karma…resign from the Supreme Court. You are a pox on our nation and the court’s history.
Phillip
He should never have been selected to sit on the bench in the first place, but that’s “blood under the bridge.” (Who’s afraid of Virginia Wolff ~ Edward Albee)
humble charlie
What a Judas Goat this creep turned out to be but at least he proclaims out loud his Judas Goatery unlike some who actually became Presidents.
JromeGervais09
He is a sexual predator. He’s the pervert. Not queers. Remember Anita Hill?
Invader7
He’s a wimp & a wussy !!!
Jimmynj
He is disgusting and his wife committed treason. You know he knew what she was doing, so he is a traitor as well. Both need to be in jail.