Northern Liberal Elites and Clarence Thomas

CNN, by Ruben Navarette, Jr.

[Clarence Thomas, said:] The worst I have been treated was by northern liberal elites,” he said. “The absolute worst I have ever been treated, the worst things that have been done to me, the worst things that have been said about me, are by northern liberal elites, not by the people of Savannah, Georgia.”

Only Thomas can speak to how he has been treated in his life, and who treated him worse. That is a personal matter. As one of the most conservative members of the High Court, he obviously has little respect for liberals. And the feeling is entirely mutual….

Make no mistake. The friction here isn’t about politics. It’s about something more primal: control. Liberals wanted to give people like Clarence Thomas every right except, it turns out, the right to think for themselves. If you forget that, you’ll be labeled a “sellout,” a “traitor,” a “right wingnut” or worse.

Most Americans probably look back on Thomas’ confirmation hearings in the fall of 1991, and think that what made them so messy were those unseemly accusations of sexual harassment by Anita Hill. That was a sideshow. The real reason for the tension in those hearings was that Thomas represents something liberals can’t stand: a black conservative.

Those on the left see conservatives of color as a kind of sociological experiment gone bad — these are people who are ungrateful for the many opportunities they were provided by the liberal establishment which, in return, asked for only three things: undying loyalty, constant agreement, and lifelong subservience.