Childhood & Early Life
Virginia Thomas was born on February 23, 1957, in Omaha, Nebraska, United States of America. While her father Donald Lamp worked as an engineer, her mother Marjorie was a homemaker. Her father also owned a successful engineering firm. Virginia was raised in Omaha, along with three siblings. Her parents were ardent supporters of ‘The Republican Party.’
Virginia was influenced by American politics and had strong Republican views, just like her parents. While attending ‘Westside High School’ in Omaha, Virginia took part in political debates. Also, she was a member of various clubs, such as ‘the student government,’ ‘the Republican club,’ and ‘the debate club.’
As a high school student, Virginia’s ambition was to become a member of ‘The United States Congress.’ Following her high school graduation, she moved to Virginia to study in a women’s college. She got herself enrolled at the college because of its proximity to the capital of the United States, Washington D.C.
However, she was later transferred to the ‘University of Nebraska.’ She then got enrolled at ‘Creighton University’ in order to be closer to her then boyfriend. She earned her bachelor’s degree in political science and business communication from ‘Creighton University’ in 1979.
By then, she had developed a keen interest in law. Hence, she pursued the ‘Doctor of Jurisprudence’ degree at ‘Creighton University School of Law’ from where she graduated in 1983. Even before completing her ‘Doctor of Jurisprudence’ degree, Virginia had started working as a legislative aide for Hal Daub.
Continue Reading Below
Career
In 1981, Hal Daub took office in Washington, D.C. Hence, Virginia moved to Washington in order to work in Hal Daub’s office. She worked for Hal Daub for the next 18 months and then left to Nebraska to complete her education. After earning her ‘Doctor of Jurisprudence’ degree, she returned to Washington to continue working for Hal Daub as his legislative director.
In 1985, she started working at the ‘United States Chamber of Commerce’ as an attorney and labor relations specialist. While working at the ‘US Chamber of Commerce,’ Virginia lobbied on behalf of the business community. During her term as the attorney, one of her most popular arguments was against the clearance of ‘Family and Medical Leave Act’ (FMLA). According to the act, employers were required to provide unpaid leave to employees under certain circumstances, such as childbirth and serious personal or family illness.
After working at the ‘Chamber of Commerce’ as an attorney and labor relations specialist for more than three years, Virginia Thomas became the ‘Manager of Employee Relations’ in 1989. In 1991, she returned to government service as she started working in the ‘Legislative Affairs Office’ of the ‘US Department of Labor.’
In the same year, her husband Clarence Thomas was accused of sexual harassment at a time when he was nominated by President George H. W. Bush for a seat in the U.S. Supreme Court. Virginia stood by her husband during his turbulent times. Subsequently, Virginia attended the Senate confirmation hearings to show support for her husband.
During the hearings, many Democratic Senators pointed out that Virginia was working with the ‘Labor Department’ and that her job may result in a conflict of interest for Clarence Thomas should he be seated in the Supreme Court. Despite strong opposition, Clarence won the seat by a majority vote. Virginia later described the entire process as ‘trial by fire.’
In the meantime, Virginia started working for Congressman Dick Armey as a policy analyst. While working for Dick Armey, questions pertaining to conflict of interest were once again raised in 1994. Her husband’s position as Associate Justice in the U.S. Supreme Court continued providing opportunities for Democratic Senators to raise conflict of interest against Virginia.
She had started working for the ‘Heritage Foundation’ by the year 2000. ‘Heritage Foundation,’ a conservative public policy think tank, is known as one of the most important conservative research organizations in the country. When the Supreme Court was in the process of settling a recount dispute in Florida’s presidential election (Bush v. Gore), Virginia was collecting resumes for potential Presidential appointments, which gave rise to another conflict of interest against her.
In 2009, Virginia started ‘Liberty Central,’ a nonprofit lobbying group that strived towards bringing the conservative activists together. ‘Liberty Central’ was also set up to issue score cards for Congress members and to motivate conservative activists to participate in the elections. The group opposed Barack Obama’s views as they considered Obama to be a leftist.
Virginia also claimed in an interview that the group was formed to ‘protect the core founding principles’ of the United States. When asked about the conflict of interest due to her husband’s position in the Supreme Court, Virginia said that she is just one among many judicial wives that is causing trouble.
In 2010, Virginia started another company named ‘Liberty Consulting, Inc.’ With ‘Liberty Consulting,’ she aims at providing her clients with political donation strategies. The website of her company also states that her clients can benefit from Virginia’s ‘experience and connections.’
In 2013, Virginia was identified as an important member of ‘Groundswell,’ an organization consisting of right wing activists and journalists. Also, she currently serves on the ‘Advisory Council’ of another right wing organization called ‘Turning Point USA.’ She also works as a columnist for ‘The Daily Caller,’ where she propagates her ideologies.
Family & Personal Life
Virginia joined a self-awareness program called ‘Lifespring’ in the 1980s. She later claimed that she was stunned by what went in there and that she realized that ‘Lifespring’ was a cult. She left the group in 1985 and joined the ‘Cult Awareness Network.’
Virginia married Clarence Thomas in 1987 and the couple currently resides in Virginia. Born into a family of Protestants, Virginia converted to the Catholic faith in 2002. Her conversion was inspired by Clarence’s devotion to the ‘Litany of Humility.’
In October 2010, she landed in a controversy when her messages to Anita Hill were divulged. Anita is the woman who had accused Virginia’s husband of sexual harassment in 1991. In the voicemail message, Virginia was heard asking Anita to take the accusations back, which Anita refused.
