Friends of Clarence Thomas Speak Out

They're calling themselves "Friends of Justice Thomas," and they say that Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas and his bestselling memoir have gotten a bum rap from the "mainstream media."

So, headed by Wendy Long, one of Thomas's former high court law clerks, the friends announced this morning the launch of a website named after Thomas's book, www.mygrandfathersson.com. The site features favorable reviews of the book, which tops the New York Times bestseller list, as well as links to blog entries and video and audio of interviews with Thomas. The site, says Long, is an effort to give readers an alternative to what she characterized as "agenda-driven, ignorant, and in some instances racist attacks on Justice Thomas" by the Times and other media.

Long told U.S. News that "a bunch of us who love him just were blown away by how candid, honest, and open he was in the book ... it takes huge courage to do that. And he wanted to do it to reach out and give hope to anyone who might feel as he did at difficult points in his life. And then to have the media use it against him in ways that straight critical journalism would not permit--inexcusable."

Long is a New York-based lawyer who, as counsel to the conservative Judicial Confirmation Network, helped shepherd through the confirmations of the most recent additions to the Supreme Court, Chief Justice John Roberts and Justice Samuel Alito.  One of the linked blogs, titled "Justice Thomas: Awesome, Not Angry," was written by Long for the National Review Online.

--Liz Halloran