Actually Gary, yes, we are much better educated society, with far less racial injustice and a higher standard of living than in 1964.
Putting that aside, let's try to get to the bottom of this cluster:
1. To the guys on the "left." Yes, this was, at best, a huge mistake by Justice Thomas. But let's look at it critically. Everyone knew his wife worked for Heritage and is a Tea Party nutjob. Justice Thomas can't be held accountable for a crazy wife right? That would put a lot of us in hot water.
So I doubt there was any real intent by Justice Thomas to hide anything here. Probably just a stupid, stupid error.
On top of that, seriously, how much more "conservative" could he be? If you were paying him to vote any more conservatively than he already does, you were wasting your money.
Stupid mistake? Yes.
Perhaps criminal? Yes.
Paid off to vote a certain way? I highly, highly doubt it.
Also, lay off the not asking questions in oral argument. At the Supreme Court, it's just a show that guys like Scalia and Brennan (on the left) get off on. The decision is made by the time of oral argument for the most part. It's a hold over from the olden days and I'd probably sit there wishing it would end so I could do some real work too.
2. To the guys on the right. It doesn't matter how times you trot out similar failings by Democrats. We get it. Both sides do this. Saying "well, X was JUST AS BIG a crook" is frankly stupid.
And stop with the idolization of Justice Thomas. By most reasonably objective accounts, what Anita Hill testified to was true, and he was a sexist pig. Like a lot of our Presidents and politicians on both sides of the aisle.
But the Democrats might have blown it by focusing on that during the hearings. The real issue with Thomas was qualification. He wasn't. And some of his early opinions are frigthteningly bad. He's gotten better, but he's not a rocket scientist and probably only marginally qualified to be on the bench (his legal career prior to appointment was mediocre at best, as he was more of a bureaucrat than a real attorney or judge).
In my view? He should get a slap on the wrist for being stupid and we all go back to our business.