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The Spectacle Blog
Justice Robert Bork has died the age of 85.
Bork was undoubtedly one of the greatest legal minds of the 20th century. But for the forces of political correctness was denied his rightful place on the Supreme Court.
One can disagree with Bork’s opposition to the Civil Rights Act of 1964. Liberals could (and still can’t) understand how one could oppose it without harboring racial sentiments. Because of this Joe Biden and the Democrats on the Senate Judiciary Committee undertook a high tech lynching against Bork and this country is far poorer for it. I remember Biden making a point of mentioning Bork’s deceased wife, which put Bork in tears.
Naturally, one must wonder if Bork’s presence on the court would have changed key decisions over the past twenty-five years. Would Obamacare still be on the books?
I know I am only scratching the surface here, but it is only natural to lament what might have been.
View all comments (21) | Leave a comment
More Blog Posts by Aaron Goldstein
http://spectator.org/blog/2012/12/19/robert-bork-rip
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RJ| 12.19.12 @ 2:07PM
Rest in Peace Justice Bork.
Robert Bork had the most impressive credentials of a nominee to the Supreme Court for at least 50 years before his nomination. The Senate and the nation have not recovered from the conduct of Ted Kennedy, Joe Biden and others during the confirmation hearings and the slander that they made against Justice Bork and a few years later, Justice Thomas. There can be no compromise with people who behave like Ted Kennedy, Harry Reid, et. al. They must be defeated.
RCV| 12.19.12 @ 2:16PM
Bork deserved confirmation. He was well-qualified and he was the President's choice. That should always be enough.
Albert Constantine Jr.| 12.19.12 @ 2:51PM
The reason that you merit (occasionally grudging) respect despite my significant disagreement with most of what you believe (and recognizing how a consistent application of the position you espouse also benefits you) is that unlike many other of your fellow left leaning posters who would never acknowledge that a wrong was done to this man (and our country as a result), you do.
While I recognize that your disagreement with the result of this anti-Bork campaign which Biden helped lead did not in any way inhibit your casting your ballot for the ticket on which he ran twice, I nonetheless appreciate the fact that you note that denying this man his seat on the SCOTUS was wrong.
CJW| 12.19.12 @ 4:18PM
Bork would have been an outstanding Justice. His two book, "Tempting of America," and "Slouching Towards Gomorrha" are excellent.
That paragon of virtue and morality, Teddy the Swimmer, led the fight against Bork, charging that blacks would have to eat at segregated counters, and that women would have back alley abortions if Bork was confirmed.
The Reps did not support Bork when attacked. Snarlin Arlen voted against him.
Occam's Tool| 12.19.12 @ 6:56PM
RCV:
You are a gentleman, sir. This was a great legal mind. I sometimes wondered why Obama didn't put Lawrence Tribe on the bench with his two picks---Liberal yes, but definitely qualified. The two he picked were borderline legal talents, really. I understand that Liberal President equals Liberal Justice, but he could have done better.
Albert, I like RCV. I usually disagree with him, but he loves this country and can be reasonably argued with. Reminds me of Senator Lieberman.
RCV| 12.19.12 @ 7:55PM
Tribe would have been a superior pick (though far more liberal than Sotomayor, who has a former prosector's view of many criminal law issues.). The Court needs sharp legal minds, though it would be a mistake to have all brilliant academics. It needs balanced perspectives as well, in terms of judges with business experience, political experience and other real-life perspectives. But they all should possess first-rate legal minds. Bork certainly had that, even though I disagreed with much of his legal analyses.
His defeat in the Senate ushered in the modern era, which encourages Presidents to nominate judges who share their political philosophy, but who have not written or spoken out extensively, which necessarily eliminates many of the most brilliant and active voices in the legal arena, both conservative and liberal. That's probably why Tribe hasn't been high on the list -- too outspoken with a long paper trail. Presidents now want vanilla candidates with a short paper trail.
Kingofthenet| 12.19.12 @ 2:17PM
Thank God, he never made it to the Supreme Court, although I would have taken him over Scalia.
Brad| 12.19.12 @ 4:46PM
Yes, you can thank your "god" (Satan) for the fact that the slanderous rant of a murderer and all-around scumbag (the late, worthless POS Edward Kennedy, the name I use when people ask me why I believe the concept of "karma" is a complete load of B.S.) kept this great mind off the court.
Thank the TRUE God that Scalia made it past Kennedy and the other scum and on to the court, Kanveoftheuniverse.
Brad| 12.19.12 @ 4:47PM
Knave, not Kanve...
Oldefarte| 12.19.12 @ 8:45PM
Yes KINGFISH, he deserved the scathing verbal attack from such a highly moral personnae as Teddy Kennedy, the champion of Chappaquidick and instigator of the WAITRESS SANDWISH [along with his equally moral high priest, Chris Dodd]. To be so prosecuted by such righteous POS's as those two makes one deserving of the Congressional Medal of Honor or perhaps sainthood instead. Even if Justice Bork has an average IQ, that would have been about 50 points higher than either of those two imbiciles. Of course the dumbars lefty loons place upon their pedestals of honor such nobility as Time Magazine's current selection for MAN OF THE YEAR, so WTF right????????
Al Adab| 12.19.12 @ 2:27PM
What of Obamacare? Of course now this president would appoint another Kagan to replace him. RJ and RCV are correct though, he was one of the best nominees ever. RIP
There was a good reason his book was titled, "Slouching Toward Gomorrah". We have arrived.
kingsmill| 12.19.12 @ 2:32PM
The towering intellect Of Bork was rejected by the ideological pygmies of the Left on the Senate Judiciary Committee (and their fellow traveling opportunist tools like Arlen Specter). Instead they've hoisted on America the likes of Sotomayor and Kagan, apparatchiks of the Left, whose intellectual heft can only be measured in femtometers.
Occam's Tool| 12.19.12 @ 8:32PM
Neither Biden nor Teddy had 3 brain cells between them.
Oldefarte| 12.19.12 @ 8:46PM
You give both of them far far too much credit!!!!!!!
JP| 12.19.12 @ 2:35PM
There were 2 GOP Senators who put the stake through Bork's SCOTUS nomination - Robert Packwood (WA) and Snarlin' Arlene (PA). Without these 2 liberal Republicans Bork never stood a chance.
Albert Constantine Jr.| 12.19.12 @ 2:55PM
...and in the end, how did they fare at the hands of their beloved moderates and democrats? Packwood's demise followed a few years later at the hands of the feminists whom he was pandering to with his vote, and Specter, well; it took a lot longer, but he died an ex-Senator and ex-Republican, rejected by voters in both parties.
Crassus| 12.19.12 @ 4:10PM
And don't forget John (Worthless) Warner from Virginia. He ducked when it counted and voted against Bork too.
CJW| 12.19.12 @ 4:20PM
Warner also refused to endorse Ollie North in his Senate race against Chuck Robb.
Albert Constantine Jr.| 12.19.12 @ 7:06PM
I figure during the time he was married to Elizabeth Taylor, Mr. Warner might have gotten a little too close to Michael Jackson, and remained compromised forever.
Butch| 12.19.12 @ 2:58PM
I'm no attorney, but I have been told that the Dems feared that his presence on the court would have intimidated the leftist justices/legislators. He was apparently that respected and feared by other jurists.
I considered those confirmation hearings to be the nadir of the American republic at the time: now law is what five people say it is, with no place to put your feet. The stock market crash followed shortly thereafter. Some Dem senator even called him greedy in so many words for quitting the public sector for a higher-paying private-sector job to pay his wife's cancer-death bills. Dispicable.
Mistreated in life, Rest in Peace, great man.
pigdog| 12.20.12 @ 6:32PM
Hey Aaron,
Lay off of Biden. Robert Bork's first wife may have died, but so did Biden's. Didn't Biden mention it during his Bork confirmation soliloquy? The only biographical detail of a distinguished Senator that is more deeply embedded in the American psyche is the fact that John Kerry served in Vietnam.
As to Robert Bork being one of the greatest legal minds in the 20th century, I'll defer to your expertise.
But I can tell you that Robert Bork did NOT graduate in the top half (76th of 85) of his class from the Syracuse Law School! Not only that, Biden graduated 506th of 688, with 3 undergraduate degrees, from the University of Delaware. My arithmetic is not as sharp as Joe Biden's (whose is?), but it looks to me that with this rank, he out-did his law school performance.
I greatly admired Robert Bork, and I regret the scurrilous treatment he received in his confirmation hearing. But if I were on the receiving end of such attacks, I'd take comfort if it were from a plagiarizing liar and a sotted rutting pig.