Story highlights Clarence Thomas is marking 25 years on the Supreme Court

He lamented the current state of affairs in Washington

Washington (CNN) Justice Clarence Thomas, celebrating 25 years on the bench at an event at the conservative Heritage Foundation, opened up Wednesday night about the current "broken" culture in Washington, took a slight shot at Obamacare and told a story about that time he and his wife fled the city in their RV and ran into a curious trucker at a gas station.

"This city is broken in some ways," Thomas said when asked in general about the judicial confirmation process that has become increasingly bitter over the last few years.

Thomas didn't directly refer to the current standoff concerning the nomination of Merrick Garland to fill the open ninth seat on the Supreme Court, but he lamented a culture where people "aren't thinking things through."

"We have decided rather than confront disagreements and the differences of opinion, we will simply annihilate the person who disagrees," he said.

Thomas didn't speak about his own contentious confirmation battle, which featured allegations of sexual harassment made against him by Anita Hill, or his own legacy.

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