Progressives urge
President Obama to nominate Anita Hill to the Supreme Court
By Mary Emily O'Hara
Feb 15, 2016, 11:27am CT | Last updated Feb 15, 2016,
3:00pm CT
In the wake of Justice Antonin Scalia's
sudden and surprising death this weekend, a slew of names have flooded the
Internet as Americans pin their hopes for a new Supreme Court justice onto President Barack Obama.
One of the suggested nominees has an increasingly vocal
fan base. With countless social media posts
and a new petition that's
received 6,000 signatures in about two days, some Americans are gunning for a
controversial nominee: Brandeis University law professor Anita Hill,
famous for her accusations against another Supreme Court jurist.
“Anita Hill is a highly qualified legal scholar with all
the right qualifications to be a Supreme Court Justice,” reads the Change.org petition
calling for her nomination. “She will be an excellent choice to make the most
important decisions facing our judiciary.”
In a strange twist of fate, the trailer for a new Kerry Washington biopic about Anita Hill was released on
Friday. Scalia died in his sleep later that night, and he was discovered on
Saturday morning by friends who had accompanied him on a hunting trip to Marfa,
Texas. The biopic is slated to air on HBO
on April 16.
The left has applauded Obama's announcement that he plans
to nominate a new judge before the end of his final term as president, with
many calling for more racial and gender diversity on the court. But were Hill
to be nominated, it would represent a greater coup of sorts for women's rights.
Hill's testimony against former boss, Supreme Court
Justice Clarence
Thomas, during his 1991 SCOTUS confirmation hearings dramatically
increased public awareness of the problem of workplace sexual harassment.
During the hearings, despite her passing a polygraph test
and other accusers stepping forward with similar recollections of Thomas's
sexual harassment, Hill was heavily questioned, criticized, and disbelieved by
many on the committee, in the media, and among the public. In effect, Hill was
put on trial herself, stating in the 2013 documentary Anita that “the issue became my character”—not
Thomas'.
The legacy following Hill's
accusations led to increased federal policies banning sexual
harassment, a dramatic increase in sexual harassment complaints filed with the
Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC), and an increase in litigation
involving sexual harassment charges.
Were Obama to nominate Hill, she would face task of serving
on the same court as Thomas. While Hill is not a judge, she is an award-winning
academic legal scholar. According to the Supreme Court, a justice does not need
to be a lawyer in order to be appointed; there are no specific qualifications
for a nominee.
Hill told the Daily Dot in an email that she was not
available to comment on the campaign for her nomination at this time.
On Saturday, during a speech addressing Scalia's death, Obama
said that he would begin the nomination process.
“I plan to fulfill my constitutional
responsibilities to nominate a successor in due time,” Obama said during the
televised speech. “There will be plenty of time for me to do so, and for the
Senate to fulfill its responsibility to give that person a fair hearing and a
timely vote.”
Anita F. Hill
Anita F. Hill is
a professor at Brandeis University, and
Joseph R. Biden Jr. presided over her
1991 testimony before Senate Judiciary Committee.
Note: Leonard C.
Goodman is a trustee at Brandeis University, and Lester Crown’s nephew.
Lester
Crown is Leonard C. Goodman’s
uncle, James S. Crown’s father, a member
of the Commercial Club of Chicago,
and a lifetime trustee at the Aspen Institute (think tank).
Foundation
to Promote Open Society was a funder for the Aspen Institute (think tank),
the Brookings Institution (think tank),
and the Sundance Institute.
George Soros
was the chairman for the Foundation to Promote Open Society.
James S.
Crown is the vice chairman for the Aspen Institute (think tank), Lester Crown’s son, married to Paula Hannaway Crown, and a member of
the Commercial Club of Chicago.
Paula Hannaway
Crown is married to James S. Crown,
and a member of the President's
Committee on the Arts and the Humanities.
Kerry Washington
is a member of the President's Committee
on the Arts and the Humanities.
Teresa Heinz
Kerry is a member of the President's
Committee on the Arts and the Humanities, married to John F. Kerry, and an honorary trustee at the Brookings Institution (think tank).
D. Ronald Daniel
was an honorary trustee at the Brookings
Institution (think tank), and a trustee at Brandeis University.
Vernon E. Jordan
Jr. is an honorary trustee at the Brookings Institution
(think tank), Valerie B. Jarrett’s great uncle, a
director at the American Friends of Bilderberg (think tank), the president
emeritus for the Robert Trent Jones Golf
Club (Gainesville, VA), and a 2008 Bilderberg conference participant
(think tank).
John G. Roberts
Jr. is an honorary member of the Robert
Trent Jones Golf Club (Gainesville, VA), the chancellor for the Smithsonian Institution, and the chief
justice for the U.S. Supreme Court.
Shirley Ann
Jackson is a regent at the Smithsonian Institution, and a trustee at the Brookings
Institution (think tank).
Joseph R. Biden Jr.
is a regent at
the Smithsonian Institution, the
vice president for the Barack Obama administration, and presided over Anita
F. Hill’s 1991 testimony before Senate Judiciary Committee.
Anita F. Hill’s 1991 testimony before Senate Judiciary
Committee was presided over by Joseph R. Biden Jr, alleged sexual
harassment by Clarence Thomas, Janet A. Napolitano represented her
before Senate Judiciary Committee, and is a professor at Brandeis University.
Clarence Thomas
is a U.S. Supreme Court justice, Anita F. Hill alleged sexual harassment
against him, and was a guest at the Koch
Industries annual conference.
Antonin Scalia was
a U.S. Supreme Court justice, a
guest at the Koch Industries annual
conference, and a member of the Burning
Tree Club.
Koch Industries
is the sponsor for the Koch Industries
annual conference.
David
H. Koch is the EVP for Koch
Industries, and a trustee at the Aspen Institute (think tank).
Jack
Valenti was a trustee at the Aspen Institute (think tank), and a
member of the Burning Tree Club.
Janet A.
Napolitano represented Anita F. Hill
before Senate Judiciary Committee, is the homeland security secretary for the Barack Obama administration, and the
president of the University of
California.
Richard C. Blum
is a regent at the University of
California, an honorary trustee at the Brookings Institution (think
tank), and married to Senator Dianne
Feinstein.
Dianne Feinstein
is married to Richard C. Blum, a U.S. Senate senator, and a member of
the Alfalfa Club.
Sandra Day
O'Connor is the president of the Alfalfa
Club, and was an associate justice for the U.S. Supreme Court.
Valerie B. Jarrett
is Vernon E. Jordan Jr’s great niece, the senior
adviser for the Barack Obama
administration, and a member of the Commercial
Club of Chicago.
Mellody L. Hobson
is a member of the Commercial Club of
Chicago, and was a trustee at the Sundance
Institute.
Henry W. McGee
was a trustee at the Sundance Institute,
and is the president of HBO Video.
HBO
Video is a division of HBO.
Christopher
P. Albrecht was the chairman & CEO for HBO, and a director at the Creative
Coalition.
Kerry Washington
was a director at the Creative Coalition,
and is a member of the President's
Committee on the Arts and the Humanities.
Paula Hannaway
Crown is a member of the President's
Committee on the Arts and the Humanities, and married to James S. Crown.
James S.
Crown is married to Paula Hannaway
Crown, Lester Crown’s son, the vice
chairman for the Aspen Institute (think tank), and a member of the Commercial
Club of Chicago.
Lester
Crown is James S. Crown’s
father, Leonard C. Goodman’s uncle, a
member of the Commercial Club of Chicago,
and a lifetime trustee at the Aspen Institute (think tank).
Leonard C.
Goodman is Lester Crown’s nephew,
and a trustee at Brandeis University.
Anita F. Hill is
a professor at Brandeis University, and
Joseph R. Biden Jr. presided over her
1991 testimony before Senate Judiciary Committee.
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