John Oliver offers Clarence Thomas $1 million a year to resign

[A2SG]

Clarence Thomas offered $1 million a year to resign

Comedian John Oliver has offered Clarence Thomas $1 million a year to resign from the U.S. Supreme Court.

www.newsweek.com

John Oliver, host of HBO's Last Week Tonight, has offered Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas a million dollars a year, out of his own pocket, plus a luxurious motor coach, to resign from the Supreme Court.

Do you think Thomas will take the offer? Or will Harlan Crow counteroffer?

-- A2SG, hope he takes it...that's a nice motor home.....

 

[ThatRobGuy]

Oliver made the offer to Thomas during the premiere of season 11 of Last Week Tonight and said he had spoken to legal experts who told him that making such an offer was not against the law.


Kinda shocked that this isn't against the law.

None the less, I think the people who cheer on Oliver for these sorts of stunts would be labeling it very differently (and likely calling it an attack on democracy or assault on democratic norms) if conservative personalities started making the same kinds of offers to left-leaning public officials.


Perhaps some of these late-night comedy personalities are feeling that they have to grasp at unique "PR stunt -type" tactics to maintain their ratings with Jon Stewart back at the helm for The Daily Show.

 

[wing2000]

I think his offer brilliantly highlights the corrupt choices Clarence Thomas has made since he has bacome a justice.

 

[iluvatar5150]

Oliver made the offer to Thomas during the premiere of season 11 of Last Week Tonight and said he had spoken to legal experts who told him that making such an offer was not against the law.


Kinda shocked that this isn't against the law.

None the less, I think the people who cheer on Oliver for these sorts of stunts would be labeling it very differently (and likely calling it an attack on democracy or assault on democratic norms) if conservative personalities started making the same kinds of offers to left-leaning public officials.


Perhaps some of these late-night comedy personalities are feeling that they have to grasp at unique "PR stunt -type" tactics to maintain their ratings with Jon Stewart back at the helm for The Daily Show.

I was thinking the same thing. I'm surprised this isn't considered attempted bribery, but I guess it's no different than offering somebody a job, which happens all the time.

It's kind of an interesting proposition for Thomas. He'd get a lot more money by accepting the offer, but he'd lose all of his prestige, which means he likely couldn't buy his way back into those social circles.

 

[Laodicean60]

I want to see what a $2.4 million motor home looks like.

 

[iluvatar5150]

I want to see what a $2.4 million motor home looks like.

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[Jimmy It]

He's a comedian. He makes a good salary behaving foolishly.
John William Oliver is a British and American comedian, writer, producer, political commentator, actor, and television host. Oliver started his career as a stand-up comedian in the United Kingdom. Wackypedia

 

[RileyG]

That won’t happen.

 

[A2SG]

Oliver made the offer to Thomas during the premiere of season 11 of Last Week Tonight and said he had spoken to legal experts who told him that making such an offer was not against the law.


Kinda shocked that this isn't against the law.

None the less, I think the people who cheer on Oliver for these sorts of stunts would be labeling it very differently (and likely calling it an attack on democracy or assault on democratic norms) if conservative personalities started making the same kinds of offers to left-leaning public officials.


Perhaps some of these late-night comedy personalities are feeling that they have to grasp at unique "PR stunt -type" tactics to maintain their ratings with Jon Stewart back at the helm for The Daily Show.

Actually, this kind of stunt is something Oliver has done before. Not long ago, in fact, he mounted a massive online campaign to have the
pūteketeke named "bird of the century" in New Zealand through an online poll. It worked, too.

Stunts are kinda his thing.

-- A2SG, has Thomas said anything yet?

 

[A2SG]

That won’t happen.

Probably not. I think Harlan Crow will outbid him. He's got more to lose with Clarence Thomas off the bench.

-- A2SG, in my oh so very humble opinion.....

 

[iluvatar5150]

Actually, this kind of stunt is something Oliver has done before. Not long ago, in fact, he mounted a massive online campaign to have the
pūteketeke named "bird of the century" in New Zealand through an online poll. It worked, too.

Stunts are kinda his thing.

-- A2SG, has Thomas said anything yet?

My favorite stunt was the back and forth he had with Russel Crowe where Oliver bought at auction Crowe’s Gladiator codpiece and put it on display at the last remaining Blockbuster and, in return, Crowe donated a bunch of money to a facility that researches syphillis in koalas so they’d name the lab after Oliver.

 

[ThatRobGuy]

I was thinking the same thing. I'm surprised this isn't considered attempted bribery, but I guess it's no different than offering somebody a job, which happens all the time.

It's kind of an interesting proposition for Thomas. He'd get a lot more money by accepting the offer, but he'd lose all of his prestige, which means he likely couldn't buy his way back into those social circles.

I would think a better use of such a lucrative monetary offer (from the Democratic perspective - since it's evidently legal) would've been to (back in 2014) make an offer to RBG to retire when she was 82-83 so that Obama could've appointed someone else to take her spot instead of Trump getting to do it.


One of the risks that comes with those lifetime judicial appointments is that once you get up in the 80's, there's no 100% guarantee you're going to make it until there's another another person from "your side" at the helm again to appoint your replacement.

As crooked at as Clearance may be, he's not a dumb guy, he's probably done that mental calculation of "If I step down now, Biden appoints my replacement, if I wait a few months down the road, there's a chance Trump will win again and then I can safely step down"

 

[iluvatar5150]

As crooked at as Clearance may be, he's not a dumb guy, he's probably done that mental calculation of "If I step down now, Biden appoints my replacement, if I wait a few months down the road, there's a chance Trump will win again and then I can safely step down"

There's the dilemma. I didn't watch the segment, but I imagine the offer is only good while Dems have the White House and the Senate. His choice would be between $1m/yr forever or doing good for the cause.

 

[A2SG]

There's the dilemma. I didn't watch the segment, but I imagine the offer is only good while Dems have the White House and the Senate. His choice would be between $1m/yr forever or doing good for the cause.

The offer is good for one month only.

-- A2SG, Oliver thought of that...

 

[RestoreTheJoy]

Oliver made the offer to Thomas during the premiere of season 11 of Last Week Tonight and said he had spoken to legal experts who told him that making such an offer was not against the law.


Kinda shocked that this isn't against the law.

None the less, I think the people who cheer on Oliver for these sorts of stunts would be labeling it very differently (and likely calling it an attack on democracy or assault on democratic norms) if conservative personalities started making the same kinds of offers to left-leaning public officials.


Perhaps some of these late-night comedy personalities are feeling that they have to grasp at unique "PR stunt -type" tactics to maintain their ratings with Jon Stewart back at the helm for The Daily Show.

It is at least a possibility: 18 US Code 201 prohibits public officials from accepting bribes or gratuities to influence their Government actions. The question is whether retirement is a "government action". Arguable.

 

[wing2000]

I want to see what a $2.4 million motor home looks like.

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www.marathoncoach.com

(..alas, this is a 1 year old model for a cool 2.8 million)

 

[durangodawood]

Kinda shocked that this isn't against the law.

None the less, I think the people who cheer on Oliver for these sorts of stunts would be labeling it very differently (and likely calling it an attack on democracy or assault on democratic norms) if conservative personalities started making the same kinds of offers to left-leaning public officials.


Perhaps some of these late-night comedy personalities are feeling that they have to grasp at unique "PR stunt -type" tactics to maintain their ratings with Jon Stewart back at the helm for The Daily Show.

Youd know thats precisely the point if you watched the episode. Its not about "fixing" the conservative / liberal balance of the court. Its about highlighting the corruptibility of supreme court justices, with Clarence Thomas being the prime example.

(And so getting RGB to leave would have been completely beside the point. As a political matter youd be right. But this is about corruption.)