I’ve really struggled over the years about how much time and energy to give to writing about Clarence Thomas. Some years ago, I reviewed a scathing account of Thomas by former Congressman William Clay in his book, “Clarence Thomas: A Knight in Tainted Armor.” The chorus to impeach Thomas has been growing louder since the book was published in 2015. It’s time to bring this tragic opera to an end.

It’s almost incomprehensible to know that Thomas’ early politicization embraced his Blackness. He abandoned the pursuit to become a Catholic priest because he felt the church wasn’t doing enough to fight racism. At his undergraduate college, Thomas helped to establish the Black Student Union. He engaged in anti-war protests and sit-ins against racism. A Malcolm X poster even hung in his dorm room.

I do not have the skill set to analyze what happened to Thomas after he graduated from Yale Law School in 1974; maybe someone else has done the psychological analysis. I do know that he ended up in my home state of Missouri and morphed into a self-loathing, misogynistic person void of moral character.

When Justice Thurgood Marshall retired from the High Court in 1991, then U.S. Senator John Danforth from Missouri lobbied President Bush to nominate Thomas for the open seat. You should know that justice-loving people in St. Louis fought like hell against the nomination. We were fully aware of the consequences his confirmation would have on the country. A courageous Anita Hill did her part to stop the confirmation as did many others, especially civil rights and women’s groups. The Senate approval vote was the thinnest margin in over 100 years.

There was never an expectation that Clarence Thomas could fill the big, judicial shoes of Thurgood Marshall. Maybe there was some reasonable thinking that Thomas had the acumen to interpret the law based upon the Constitution while staying independent from special interests. He did not.

Justice Thomas rarely asked questions from the bench during oral arguments. According to Clay’s book on the muted justice, he asked absolutely no questions for an entire decade. The practice slowly changed when COVID-19 forced the court sessions to be videotaped. Was there no need to ask questions because he had already been told which way to rule?

Behind the scenes, Thomas was talking plenty – to his sugar daddy, Harlan Crow. For years, the billionaire has lavished the Thomas family with private jet flights, luxury vacations and more. Crow also paid for the college tuition of a relative raised by the Thomases. Obviously, all this to make sure Crow had a friendly vote on the court when his cases made their way up the chain. Thomas saw no need to disclose the gifts or recuse himself. This is corruption at the highest level of the judicial system.

Congressman Bennie Thompson and other Black folks have called the justice Uncle Tom for years. Minnesota Attorney General Keith Ellison once referred to Thomas as Stephen, the house negro in the movie “Django Unchained.” Thomas’ behavior is more than embarrassing buffoonery. The name-calling may sully his reputation in the annals of Black History, it doesn’t stop his rulings.

There’s enough known evidence to show that Thomas is unfit to serve in this prestigious position. The House of Representatives can impeach a Supreme Court justice with a simple majority. Right now, the Democrats have a slight numerical edge but who knows what may happen in 2024. We must move quickly to let our representatives know that Uncle Thomas must be targeted for impeachment. A clear message must prevail that judicial seats are not up for sale.

The next battle in the war is imposing term limits on the U.S. Supreme Court. The country can’t endure a lifetime of justices like Clarence Thomas.