John, Clarence Thomas is feeling the heat.

As the New York Times reports, everyone’s least favorite right-wing political operative in a judicial robe recently decried the scrutiny he and his wife Ginni Thomas have faced over this past year. Against the backdrop of a swanky resort, he characterized the reports exposing his failure to disclose years of luxury gifts from billionaire benefactors and Ginni Thomas’ role in the January 6th insurrection as “nastiness” and “lies.”

What does this latest temper tantrum tell us? That the pressure we’re putting on Thomas and the other members of the right-wing majority for their ethical misconduct is working — so we have to keep it up.

Here’s the thing: Thomas is not the only far-right justice feeling the pressure.

Justice Alito shared similar gripes in a commencement address he gave this weekend, asserting that “It’s rough out there” for conservatives right now.

We all know these are the ramblings of two ultra-powerful people divorced from the reality the rest of us live in. But all fantasy aside, their comments reveal an important truth: the right-wing extremists on the court want to keep behaving however they want, but they don’t want us to talk about it. And that’s exactly why we have to keep doing so.