Thomas Replaced Thurgood Marshall’s Vision With One More Amenable To The Powerful Than The Powerless

This article is part of TPM Cafe, TPM’s home for opinion and news analysis. It was originally published at The Conversation.

As public attention focuses on Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas’ close personal and financial relationship with a politically active conservative billionaire, the scrutiny is overlooking a key role Thomas has played for nearly three decades on the nation’s highest court.

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When GOP Attorneys General Embraced Jan 6, Corporate Funders Fled. Now They’re Back.

This article was originally published at ProPublica, a Pulitzer Prize-winning investigative newsroom.

An atmosphere of conviviality greeted Republican attorneys general arriving in New Orleans for their recent winter conference. It was Mardi Gras, and tourists traipsed through the lobby of the historic Roosevelt Hotel wearing colorful beaded necklaces and clutching cocktails.

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Supreme Court Freezes Lower Court Rulings While Mifepristone Case Plays Out

The Supreme Court ruled Friday to pause lower court rulings that would have imposed restrictions on mifepristone, keeping the drug accessible while the case proceeds.

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Treasurer At Center Of Santos Scandals Touted Herself As Defender Of Accountability And ‘Careful Stewardship’

As the treasurer for George Santos’ campaign and two of his political committees, Nancy Marks is a central figure in the various investigations into his wildly irregular campaign finances. And according to a new report from the New York Times, Marks attracted the attention of federal investigators at least twice before she teamed up with Santos. 

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Judge Savages Kacsmaryk Ruling While Siding With Maker Of Generic Mifepristone 

A federal judge has denied an attempt by Republican officials in West Virginia to pause a maker of mifepristone’s lawsuit against them Friday, taking the opportunity to thoroughly rinse his colleague in Texas, U.S. District Judge Matthew Kacsmaryk. 

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The Fall of Meatball Ron: Egghead Analysis Edition

It is incredibly entertaining watching the dreams of Ron DeSantis and his billionaire power-broker backers crumble before our eyes. I mean, super entertaining. But beyond the hilarity there are some more serious points to note about what we’re seeing.

First a bit of stage setting.

We’re seeing lots of commentary now about all the mistakes DeSantis is making or has made. Be skeptical of that. The issue is more that his whole Trump-slaying candidacy was basically a mirage. If DeSantis didn’t exist his supporters would have had to invent him. And they did invent him, because he doesn’t exist. After 2020 and especially after the 2022 misfire there were lots of Republicans, especially the big donors and operatives, who wanted to put an end to the Trump Era. The question was who could pull that off. DeSantis was succeeding politically in Florida with a pretty Trumpian agenda. So he made a lot of sense as the guy. Ron was definitely up for it. But all the eye-popping poll results and all the big money men lining up behind him had virtually nothing to do with the actual person Ron DeSantis, who is at best not a people person or a terribly dynamic campaigner.

He was the way station for the support of people who — all things being equal — wanted to move on from Trump. The second his Trump-Slayer bonafides took a hit he was always going to drop like a stone. Which is what’s happening right now. The support was a mirage. So don’t be too hard on the guy for squandering his big chance since it was always an illusion in the first place.

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In Secret Recording, A Top City Library Official Calls Alaska Natives ‘Woke’ And ‘Racists’

This article was originally published at ProPublica, a Pulitzer Prize-winning investigative newsroom.

Alaska governors and mayors have at various times appointed Judy Eledge to the state Board of Education, the Anchorage Health and Human Services Commission and the Alaska Juvenile Justice Advisory Committee. She stood at the side of Gov. Mike Dunleavy, a personal friend, on the night of his 2018 Republican primary victory.

When it was time for the state to cast its Electoral College votes in the 2020 presidential election, Eledge was one of the three people representing Alaska. And in his annual State of the State speech earlier that year, Dunleavy asked her to stand for an ovation because she exemplified “the heart of Alaska.”

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GOP Lawmaker Voted To Expel Tennessee Three Days After Panel Found He Sexually Harassed Interns

Tennessee Republican Scotty Campbell — one of the legislators who voted to expel the Tennessee Three — resigned from his House seat on Thursday after it became public that he sexually harassed a legislative intern.

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