Clarence Thomas Destroys 'Progressivism' in Ruthless Speech

Matt Margolis-Opinion : Apr 16, 2026
PJ Media

The Declaration holds that rights come from God, that they are unalienable, and that government exists to protect them. So-called "progressivism" inverts that entirely. "It holds that our rights and our dignities come not from God, but from government," Thomas said. "It requires of the people a subservience and weakness incompatible with a constitution premised on the transcendent origin of our rights."

[PJMedia.com] If you're here, you already love Justice Clarence Thomas for being a reliable defender of the Constitution. You've probably wished that we could clone him so that he could be on all nine seats of the Supreme Court. He never seems to disappoint. And during a speech on Wednesday at the University of Texas at Austin Law School, he definitely did not disappoint. (Screengrab image: via ABC News)

Thomas took the stage and went straight for the jugular of "progressivism," framing it not as a policy disagreement but as a direct assault on the republic's foundation. "Progressivism seeks to replace the basic premises of the Declaration of Independence and hence our form of government," he said.

Thomas argued that a spirit of "cynicism, rejection, hostility and animus" toward America—from Americans themselves—has taken root across the country. The values enshrined in the Declaration of Independence have "fallen out of favor," he said, and he laid the blame squarely at the feet of intellectuals and the nation's colleges and universities.

Anyone who has watched what passes for higher education in recent decades will find that assessment difficult to argue with.

At the heart of his critique was a simple but devastating contrast. The Declaration holds that rights come from God, that they are unalienable, and that government exists to protect them. So-called "progressivism" inverts that entirely. "It holds that our rights and our dignities come not from God, but from government," Thomas said. "It requires of the people a subservience and weakness incompatible with a constitution premised on the transcendent origin of our rights."

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Thomas also took aim at the Washington establishment—the comfortable class of officials who have learned to dress up their failures in respectable language. He accused DC of being overrun by people with no real commitment to righteous cause, traditional morality, national defense, free enterprise, religious piety, or the original meaning of the Constitution. "They recast themselves as... Subscribe for free to Breaking Christian News here

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