Ginni Thomas, Loose Cannon

Nicole Jeffords (2022)

This is a drawing of Ginni Thomas, wife of Supreme Court Justice, Clarence Thomas, thirty year veteran of the court. Ginni is both a lawyer and a political activist. She has a long, colorful history, but I will just stick to the impressions I had as I was working on her.

This, I thought, studying her eyes and mouth, is a person who has poor boundaries (or maybe none at all?). Life is her oyster, she can do exactly as she thinks and likes. Consequences? Poof — none are as important as her own agenda, which might include pushing for the Big Lie and its orange-headed promulgator even if that meant totally ignoring/discounting a valid election. That, of course, would be a dismal death to democracy as we know it, an outcome that didn’t seem to bother Ginni Thomas, caught up in the craziness and glee of a political insurrection. Personally I think she was enjoying herself, and her connection to Trump and his staff.

The other word that floated through as I drew her was “loose cannon,” an apt description of our Ginni with her grinning mouth and mischievous eyes. This girl likes an adventure, might not matter whose toes she steps on.

So I’m kind of left with one conclusion here, and that’s when justices are considered for the high court, their partners — husbands and wives — ought to be looked at, too. I was brought up on this old adage, which my German Jewish mother repeated over and over again: “Loose lips sink ships.” ‘Nuff said.