By
Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas was already a controversial public figure, but 2023 was a brutal year for the far-right jurist’s reputation. Thomas spent much of the year confronting difficult ethics questions that he and his allies struggled to answer.
What emerged was a portrait of a powerful judge who received previously undisclosed benefits from his very wealthy friends, who apparently helped provide Thomas with a more luxurious lifestyle.
It was against this backdrop that The Onion, a satirical outlet, published an amusing item this week. The headline on the comedic item read, “Clarence Thomas Announces 50% Discount On All Favorable Rulings.”
Telling Americans that they must act now to avoid losing out on the chance of a lifetime, Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas announced at a press conference Monday a 50% discount on all favorable rulings. “Today and today only, I’m offering half off on tilting any jurisprudence in your favor — all principles must go!” said the associate justice, who went on to list issues including abortion, voting rights, interstate commerce, social media regulations, and gun ownership by domestic abusers that could now be decided at a steep discount.
Just we’re all clear, the satirical item was a joke. It was intended to be funny. There was no actual press conference, and Thomas isn’t actually selling favorable rulings.
But the fact The Onion published such a joke suggested the satirists at the site believe the controversies surrounding the conservative justice have reached a comedic critical mass.
Indeed, they’re not alone. The week before The Onion’s piece ran, comedian John Oliver, who hosts “Last Week Tonight” on HBO, used his program to offer Thomas $1 million a year — and a surprisingly luxurious R.V. — if the jurist agreed to resign from the Supreme Court.
I’m mindful of the fact that it’s folly to overanalyze jokes, but the combination of The Onion’s piece and John Oliver’s segment suggests Supreme Court corruption is becoming a more common cultural punchline. Satirists not only find the subject worth exploring, they also expect the public to be familiar enough with recent revelations for the jokes to land.
And for the high court as an institution, this is nightmarish.
Following a series of reactionary, far-right rulings, including the decision to overturn Roe v. Wade, the public’s opinion of the Supreme Court has already sunk to striking depths. A growing number of Americans see the justices as political players who draw conclusions based on partisan and ideological preferences, not constitutional law.
It’s against this backdrop that Clarence Thomas is facing so many ethics allegations that jokes about him being corrupt are increasingly commonplace.
It's one thing for Americans to see the justices as hacks. It's something else for Americans to see them as hacks who can be bought for a price.
Vox’s Zack Beauchamp wrote a piece a couple of years ago that included a memorable line: “The Court’s power depends on its legitimacy — on a widespread belief, among both citizens and politicians, that following its orders is the right and necessary thing to do.”
As we discussed soon after, there’s ample evidence from history that when the nation’s founders were creating our system of government, they were mindful of this and feared the court would be seen as weak. Alexander Hamilton wrote in Federalist No. 78:
“The Executive not only dispenses the honors, but holds the sword of the community. The legislature not only commands the purse, but prescribes the rules by which the duties and rights of every citizen are to be regulated. The judiciary, on the contrary, has no influence over either the sword or the purse; no direction either of the strength or of the wealth of the society; and can take no active resolution whatever. It may truly be said to have neither FORCE nor WILL, but merely judgment.”
In other words, all the institution has is its credibility. Perceptions about its judgment stand as the sole source of the court’s power.
Those perceptions are deteriorating. If Chief Justice John Roberts is wondering whether he needs to get his house in order, I’d be happy to send him a copy of The Onion’s latest Thomas joke or a clip from “Last Week Tonight.”