Lawmakers in the Georgia House of Representatives are set to take up a proposal on Tuesday to honor U.S. Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas in the state Capitol.
Rep. Jesse Petrea (R-Savannah) will shepherd the attempt to win approval of a statue or other monument to the conservative icon inside the Capitol or on its grounds. The measure, led by Sen. Ben Watson (R-Savannah), passed the state Senate in 2022 and again last year but has never received a vote in the House.
Thomas was born in Pin Point, 11 miles south of downtown Savannah, and remained in Chatham County through high school. Last week, Watson defended the proposal to commemorate the second Black American to take a seat on the nation’s highest court.
“I’m from Savannah. Clarence Thomas is from Savannah. His mother I know really well, family well. Good family. Well-respected in our community. I think this is well-deserved,” he told the House Special Rules Committee, chaired by Rep. Steven Sainz (R-St. Marys).
The tone of Tuesday’s debate about memorializing the justice is unlikely to be so down-home.
As they have in the past, some Democrats are expected to urge the legislature to wait until Thomas has stepped down from the bench to decide how or whether to honor him, just as the legislature waited until Jimmy Carter was out of office to honor the former president.
Other Democrats are expected to oppose honoring Thomas altogether, asking what message such an honor sends about a justice around whom so much controversy swirls, including allegations of financial improprieties; his wife Ginni’s alleged involvement in the Jan. 6, 2021, attack on the U.S. Capitol; the justice’s involvement in 2020 election interference cases currently before the court; and the allegations of sexual harassment that dominated his confirmation hearings in 1991 and that Sen. Nikki Merritt (D-Grayson) says still resonate with her and many other Black women today.
Long a matter of public record, the allegations are unlikely to make any difference Tuesday, as Watson, Petrea and their Republican majority in the House appear determined to honor the conservative icon while he’s still on the bench.
During a Senate floor debate in 2022, Watson repeatedly cast Democratic challenges to the appropriateness of honoring Thomas as “opinions.” And asked whether he was aware of allegations that Ginni Thomas helped plan the events that led to the Jan. 6 attack, Watson replied, “That’s total news to me.”
Noting last week that Thomas has never been indicted, tried, or found guilty of any offense, Sen. Jason Anavitarte (R-Dallas) called the claims by Democratic lawmakers about the justice “inappropriate,” “partisan,” and “talking points that the Left wants to give.”
The Tide brings regular notes and observations on news and events by The Current staff.
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