The Company We Keep
I am not surprised that questions would arise about the family of Judge Terri Willingham Thomas (Republican candidate for Place 3, Court of Civil Appeals) and their ties to white supremacist groups once they were made public. Political candidates and occasionally other public figures are routinely pilloried for their memberships in all-white, exclusive country clubs. If the public wants to know how closely a public official identifies with the beliefs and actions of a country club, how surprised can we be that the public wants to know how closely a candidate identifies with the beliefs and actions of family?
Raising these kinds of questions is standard political fare. I expected that Judge Thomas would repudiate the beliefs of the Ku Klux Klan and the Council of Conservative Citizens, and we would all move on. The surprise to me is how tepid her response has been to the questions. We probably all would have moved on quickly if she had quickly said something akin to “I love my family very much but I do not share their views that were a product of another era. The beliefs of these organizations are repugnant to me. I do not solicit or encourage the support of groups like this.”
Instead, she responds with an invitation for “the voters in Cullman County to make their decision based on her qualifications, experience and record of service.” The perfect world may work that way, but only a political greenhorn would believe that we are not evaluated by the company we keep. While Judge Thomas doesn’t get to choose her family, she should not be surprised that the public wants to know if she chooses their beliefs.
I want to share a posting that I found elsewhere, on another blog. I quote a person only identified as “renegade_36104″
“….. I am trying to understand why a candidate for the Court of Civil Appeals can not stand up and admit that YES she knew her parents were members of the Klan and NO this relationship would not cause her to be biased in rendering an opinion if she is elected.
Instead she stands and insults the intelligence of every voter in this State by saying she did not know her parents were members. Yet in a statement this morning in the Cullman paper a Mr. Floyd, who is head of the Cullman County Republican Party stated that during her re-election campaign he had a letter that laid out her parents involvement in the Klan. I live in this state and vote in this state. I run a business here. So I want to know where judges stand and how they are potentially influenced. I would hope that matter to you as well.
Honest in a judge is paramount. So far this Judicial Candidate has been less than honest! I do want to know what is lurking in her background. I do want to know her “record as a judge” that many of you seem to think is so good.
If it had been “a question asked and answered” on Monday…you and I Sir would have never even met here. But I intend to stay and I intend to want to find out what she might be hiding and why did she lie.”
Renegade_36104…right on!!! (Renegade_36104 was responding to a post from a John Killian)
Comment by Anonymous — August 30, 2006 @ 1:12 pm
Actually she asnwered the question. As a judge there has never been any question of her being biased towards anyone on account of race (or anything else for that matter). She has a 10 year record to examine. So let’s see, her mamma and daddy were members of the Klan. As a judge for 10 years she has been fair and unbiased (even the Chairman of the Cullman Co Democratic party said so). I guess we already know how should would act on the bench.
Comment by Anonymous — August 30, 2006 @ 6:41 pm
I’ve seen questions raised about the Judge’s comments that she didn’t know about her parents’ affiliation with the Klan, given that her mother was arrested when she was a teenager. I have no idea whether or not she was being honest about that, but I do know that my mother (who is not a Klan member) had a heart attack when I was a teenager and did her best not to let me know about it. So it is in the realm of possibility that the family had kept that little tidbit from the children.
Comment by Kathy — August 30, 2006 @ 9:58 pm
Apparently a lot of people, don’t think she has answered the question. But only time will tell.
I have a question more about judges and their records…and no I am not referring to Judge Thomas specifically.
How do we know if a sitting Judge in Alabama has a good record? How do we the voters know whether or not what ingredients make-up a “good record”?
Is it the number of cases reversed on appeals at a higher court level against the total number of cases that Judge handles?
Is it number of complaints filed against that Judge by lawyers and or their clients?
Is it strictly applying the law in that fits the case? For example, and again not referring to Judge Thomas, in Family Court does this Judge attempt to apply shared parenting custody decisions in a divorce instead on what is called “standard visitation”?
How do we as voters really know what makes a good Judge? Just food for thought
Comment by Anonymous — August 31, 2006 @ 4:22 am
I’m from Cullman and know the Willinghams and was supporting Terri in her bid. To say that ANYONE in Cullman doesn’t know of her parents’ former ties to the Klan is ludicrous!
I would have supported her regardless of her parents’ history, but now that she continues to lie I cannot support a judge who doesn’t mind deceiving to protect her image.
Comment by Anonymous — September 5, 2006 @ 5:20 pm