Liberty Central

Liberty Central
Formation 2009
Legal status 501(c)(4)
Headquarters Washington, DC
Region served
United States
President and CEO
 Virginia Thomas
Volunteers
online activists
Website Liberty Central

Liberty Central is a non-profit conservative political advocacy group founded in 2009 by Virginia Thomas, the wife of U.S. Supreme Court Associate Justice, Clarence Thomas. Virginia Thomas is the President and CEO.[1]

Mission

Its declared purpose is stated on its website as "America’s Public Square. We Listen. We Inspire. We Activate ... to secure the blessings of liberty."[2] The organization was promoted at the 2010 Conservative Political Action Conference as "an online community for those seeking to "preserve freedom and reaffirm the core founding principles."[3] Ed Morrissey, a prominent conservative blogger who runs Hotair.com, said the Liberty Central site would provide education in history and the Constitution for tea party activists.[3]

Funding

The group was founded with seed money of $550,000 coming from two donors whose names were undisclosed.[4] In a February 2011 article, Politico reported that the initial $500,000 contribution came from Dallas real estate investor and conservative philanthropist Harlan Crow[5][6]

Activities

Liberty Central activities have included hosting a live web cast on October 20, 2010, in conjunction with the Family Research Council to protest the January 2011 expiration of tax cuts that were passed in 2001 and 2003.[1]

According to United Press International, the Liberty Central group has been highly critical of U.S. President Barack Obama.[4]

Criticism

Thomas has been criticized for her involvement in Liberty Central because someone who contributes to the group may have a case before the Supreme Court.[4] However, there is no law limiting what Thomas can do, and according to some legal experts Supreme Court Justices are not required to recuse themselves from cases where they may have a conflict of interest.[4]

On October 21, 2010, Thomas was specifically criticized for taking a position, via Liberty Central, on an issue that was likely to come before the Supreme Court - whether the 2010 health care legislation was unconstitutional.[7] A memo signed by Thomas that called for the repeal of the law and that was posted on the Liberty Central website was removed following the criticism. A Liberty Central spokesperson explained that Thomas had not personally reviewed the memo and that it been mistakenly approved by a staff member, and had been circulated by another group, the Conservative Action Project.[7][8]

References

  1. 1 2 "FRC Action and Liberty Central to Host Live Webcast on Looming Massive Tax Hikes". Washington D.C.: PR Newswire. 2010-10-20. Retrieved 2010-10-23.
  2. ↑ "About Us « Liberty Central". Libertycentral.org. Retrieved 2010-10-23.
  3. 1 2 Tony Mauro (2010-02-23). "Virginia Thomas Launching 'Liberty Central' Site". The BLT: The Blog of Legal Times. The Legal Times. Retrieved 2010-10-23.
  4. 1 2 3 4 "Justice's wife heads political group". UPI.com. Retrieved 2010-10-23.
  5. ↑ Kenneth Vogel; Marin Cogan; John Bresnahan (4 February 2011). "Justice Thomas's wife Virginia Thomas now a lobbyist". Politico. p. 2. Retrieved 25 June 2011.
  6. ↑ Mike McIntire (18 June 2011). "Friendship of Justice and Magnate Puts Focus on Ethics". NY Times. Retrieved 25 June 2011.
  7. 1 2 Kathleen Hennessey (2010-10-22). "Virginia Thomas' group backs off on calling healthcare law unconstitutional". The Los Angeles Times. Retrieved 2010-10-23.
  8. ↑ "Thomas's Wife Is Off Memo List". The New York Times. Bloomberg News. 2010-10-21. Retrieved 2010-10-23.
  • Liberty Central Website
  • Jackie Calmes (2010-10-09). "Activism of Thomas's Wife Could Raise Judicial Issues". The New York Times. Retrieved 2010-10-23.
  • "Conservative Spotlight: Liberty Central". Human Events. 2010-06-26. Retrieved 2010-10-23.
  • "Ginni Thomas's Threat to Ordered Liberty - By Shannen Coffin - The Corner - National Review Online". Nationalreview.com. 2010-10-13. Retrieved 2010-10-23.
  • Faughnan, Brian (2010-10-14). "Rush Limbaugh Defends Liberty Central Against Media Attacks « Liberty Central". Libertycentral.org. Retrieved 2010-10-23.
This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.