Note: This “Moore to the Point” commentary aired on NewsTalkSTL on Thursday, June 16th. Below is audio.
Those familiar with Supreme Court lore are aware of the close friendship that existed between Justices Antonin Scalia and Ruth Bader Ginsburg – political polar opposites yet regular dining and travel companions and dear friends to the end. That friendship was a testament to the idea that people of good faith can disagree agreeably – and that collegiality is a virtue.
On Thursday, Justice Sonia Sotomayor – perhaps the most liberal of the sitting justices – praised the most conservative, Clarence Thomas. Speaking at an event, Sotomayor described Thomas as “a man who cares deeply about the Court as an institution,” and “the one justice in the building that literally knows every employee’s name.”
In other words, though she and her colleague hold extraordinarily different political views – and judicial philosophies – she holds him in high esteem and speaks warmly of him. That is a great thing.
But not to leftists. This unorthodox display of collaboration by justices they consider their own was met with outrage on Twitter. What dare she praise him!!
Demonstrating yet again the disdain for foundational concepts like the freedom of association, and the seething intolerance of the so-called “tolerant” crowd.