Robert Bork, the intensely conservative failed Supreme Court nominee from 1987, has passed away after a heart ailment. Bork was a sort of bogeyman from the right, destroyed by Joe Biden in the senate hearings for his nomination for being absolutely insane and who Mitt Romney made head of his judiciary appointments in an attempt to gain conservative credibility.
Thanks to the failure of the Bork nomination, we got Kennedy, who will occasionally vote in favor of things like equality and gay rights. He is, in fact, our best hope that the court will overturn DOMA and Prop 8. So, the borking of Robert Bork was quite fateful.
From my speech about the war on women earlier this year:
The Supreme Court has four justices over 70 and Mitt Romney’s chair of judiciary appointments is Robert Bork.
Robert Bork, the man Reagan failed to get on the Supreme Court 15 years ago. Robert Bork who doesn’t believe in the right to contraception, much less abortion, who thinks discriminating against women is QUOTE “not possible”, who opposed the Civil Rights Act of 1964. I know who I don’t want putting people on our already too anti-woman court.
The thing about Bork, though, is that he was very smart and very funny. I actually have a lot of respect for his intellect, but it’s hard to respect someone who fought for Nixon during Watergate and would repeal equal rights laws if he had the opportunity — and he very nearly did have the opportunity.
More here: http://www.startribune.com/nation/184098181.html?refer=y
Ashley's co-blogger is a third year student at Northwestern University who runs on coffee and snark. . At some point, she'd like to make people sit on couches and tell her about their feelings, but right now she writes in different places around the internet and makes silly faces when she doesn't know what to say. She's the president of her local Secular Student Alliance affiliate, and she is on the Secular Woman speakers bureau. Opinions do not necessarily reflect those of the Secular Student Alliance
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Dalillama, Schmott Guy
December 19, 2012 at 11:42 am (UTC -4) Link to this comment
I haven’t read much of Bork, but the part of Slouching Towards Gomorrah that I was able to get through before my head started to hurt indicated to me that he was smart in the same way that Buckley and Will have widely been held to be smart: they’re all articulate and prone to peppering their works with classical and historical allusions. None of these things have any bearing on their actual ability to analyze problems, acquire data about them, and apply that data creatively towards solutions, nor their ability to construct valid reality based arguments, etc. In other words, while they’re facile with words, I see no indication of serious thought occurring.
Marcus Ranum
December 19, 2012 at 12:00 pm (UTC -4) Link to this comment
smart in the same way that Buckley and Will have widely been held to be smart: they’re all articulate and prone to peppering their works with classical and historical allusions
Yes, they’re a stupid/ignorant person’s idea of what a smart/educated person sounds like. They aped a wal-mart version of the mannerisms of the upper class.
Rodney Nelson
December 19, 2012 at 12:01 pm (UTC -4) Link to this comment
I first became aware of Bork because of the Saturday Night Massacre.
Nixon was forced to appoint a special prosecutor to investigate the Watergate break-in. A Harvard law professor, Archibald Cox, was appointed. Cox issued a subpoena to Nixon for some of the infamous Oval Office tapes. After some legal maneuvering Nixon ordered Attorney General Elliot Richardson to fire Cox. Richardson refused and resigned. Nixon then ordered Deputy Attorney General William Ruckelshaus to fire Cox. He also refused and resigned.
Both Congress and the American public were outraged. Calls for Nixon’s impeachment poured into Congress and the White House. Nixon was forced to appoint a new special prosecutor, Leon Jaworski, who investigated more than just the Watergate burglary itself.
Bork’s role in the Saturday Night Massacre was a factor in his failure to get Senate confirmation as a Supreme Court justice.
Kazim
December 19, 2012 at 1:05 pm (UTC -4) Link to this comment
Ding dong.
raven
December 19, 2012 at 1:07 pm (UTC -4) Link to this comment
I cheered when I saw that headline, this morning.
Dancing on people’s graves is sort of tacky. But I will make exceptions for exceptional monsters like Bork.
Didaktylos
December 19, 2012 at 1:54 pm (UTC -4) Link to this comment
If Yahweh existed one would have to feel sorry for him – having Bork as a house-guest for eternity.
Corvus illustris
December 19, 2012 at 4:36 pm (UTC -4) Link to this comment
Didaktylos@7 is in fact expressing sympathy for the devil.
gridironmonger
December 20, 2012 at 2:52 am (UTC -4) Link to this comment
As a rule, I never dance. And I won’t for Bork.
But if I saw a similar headline about Kissinger, Scalia, or Thomas, I might make an exception.
thebookofdave
December 20, 2012 at 8:06 am (UTC -4) Link to this comment
I’m not going to gloat over the man’s death. But I admit to breathing a brief sigh of relief at finding out that he’s out of the picture.
Gregory in Seattle
December 20, 2012 at 10:16 am (UTC -4) Link to this comment
One should only speak good of the dead.
He’s dead: good.
decorators
December 24, 2012 at 10:38 am (UTC -4) Link to this comment
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モンクレール メンズ
December 27, 2012 at 8:02 am (UTC -4) Link to this comment
これは、非常に良いもの、感謝の意を調べました。”私は最善を尽くします。それはすべて私がしてもいいです私はあなたの助けと神のために頼む。”リンドン·ジョンソンで。