SEN. GORE: Mr. President, I wish to thank the Chairman of the Committee for yielding time, and I understand, I say, on behalf of many of us, the difficult job he has in parceling out time. I had intended to make some lengthy remarks here, but in just the few short minutes that are now being allocated to senators to speak, I wish to make just a couple of points briefly.
Number one, I made my decision on this nomination before all of the events of the past weekend and before the allegations those hearings explored were made. I made my decision to vote against the nomination of Judge Thomas based on the record of the first hearing, based on my analysis of what I regard as a still-evolving judicial philosophy and a variety of other issues and concerns which I discussed here on the floor of the Senate last week.
I have not changed the conclusion which I reached at that time. I will elaborate on my reasons for the record. I did wish on this occasion, however, to make a very few remarks about the hearings of the last several days.
First of all, I understand the perception of many in this country that Judge Thomas has been treated by the process unfairly. There are many more telephone calls being received in my offices in favor of Judge Thomas than calls being received in opposition to Judge Thomas. Many feel the leak was inherently unfair and that as a result the charges came to light at the last minute and this was unfair.
And I also would like to say that I think it would be wrong to judge Clarence Thomas as an individual on the basis of one's perception of these allegations, even if one concludes they are true. He's a very complex individual, as everyone is. And I think that the testimony of his friends and acquaintances over the years is very powerful.
But Mr. President, we owe fairness to Professor Anita Hill also. She did not ask to come forward. She was pulled into this process also by the leak. And she came and gave testimony which seemed to me to be extremely honest and credible. I know the country's polarized now on all of these subjects, but I regret very much that at one point she was charged by a senator with having perjured herself. I disagree strongly with that characterization. I thought that everything she said was very logical, and I thought the four corroborating witnesses who talked about how she had confided in them 10 years ago at the time this took place were very believable and credible.
I also think, incidentally, that one of the things we've all been learning about on the subject of sexual harrassment is what goes on inside the mind of a victim which sometimes leads that person to keep silent about it and to continue maintaining a facade of friendship and an outward relationship so long as that secret is kept.
But Mr. President, this discussion of the allegations here was in a sense a microcosm of larger questions also involving a large change in our way of thinking about the relationship between men and women. This Court, if Judge Thomas is confirmed, will be deciding a number of issues that bear directly upon that relationship. On those questions Judge Thomas said to the committee that he had had no conversation with any individual ever on the case of Roe v. Wade, for example. Is that a credible statement? I'm not sure that it is, Mr. President. But the point is we will be making a decision here on someone who will serve on the Court for 40 to 45 years.
And I stand by the original decision that I made before these hearings were held over the past several days, and I will vote against Judge Thomas.