Amy Coney Barrett’s nomination is the fruit of decades of activity by a tightly organized network. : Mr. Edsall contributes a weekly column from Washington, D.C. on politics, demographics and inequality. In 1992, according to an article in The Times, Justice Clarence Thomas told two of his clerks that he planned to remain on the court until 2034. “Liberals made my life miserable for 43 years,” Thomas replied, “and I’m going to make their lives miserable for 43 years.” Once Amy Coney Barrett takes her seat, Thomas’s prospects for imposing misery will brighten considerably.