Posted on 10/24/2011 5:55:01 AM PDT by Lakeshark
24 years ago a new term was coined, “borking” or “to bork.” It is a tactic in which Democrats still revel, except when they feel they are on the receiving end at which point they cry foul.
Borking is the complete politicization of the judicial nomination process, in which bad motives are imputed to purely legal positions. So if a judicial nominee believes that a particular issue is beyond the reach of the federal judiciary and properly for the political process, that nominee will have the worst motives imputed to him or her, including an imputed desire for bad results. Thus, taking the position that there is no federal constituional right for [insert claimed right here] allows people like Ted Kennedy to claim that the nominee wants [insert horrific result here].
**snip**
The ugliness of borking has effects beyond the judiciary, notes Joe Nocera in The NY Times: I bring up Bork not only because Sunday is a convenient anniversary. His nomination battle is also a reminder that our poisoned politics is not just about Republicans behaving badly, as many Democrats and their liberal allies have convinced themselves. Democrats can be — and have been — every bit as obstructionist, mean-spirited and unfair.
I’ll take it one step further. The Bork fight, in some ways, was the beginning of the end of civil discourse in politics. For years afterward, conservatives seethed at the “systematic demonization” of Bork…. The anger between Democrats and Republicans, the unwillingness to work together, the profound mistrust — the line from Bork to today’s ugly politics is a straight one.
(Excerpt) Read more at legalinsurrection.com ...
The gift that keeps on giving.
Who knew how many decisions on which the future of the Republic hangs would come down to Anthony Kennedy flapping in the breeze.
Gotta give ol’ Chappaquiddick Ted some credit for foresight.
He obviously saw this scam paying dividends for the Left for decades into the future. If Obamacare is upheld he will richly deserve the credit/blame.
What Ted (”Currently burning in Hell”) Kennedy once did to one man, Barack Obama now does to an entire political party. He purposely demonizes Republicans and conservatives in a way that implies that only Democrats and liberals can ever be motivated by principle.
Count me among those who are not sorry Robert Bork is not on the High Court today. His opposition to the RKBA would have been critical in the court’s recent pro gun decision.
Biden, who chaired the Judiciary Committee, was worse than Kennedy in the entire travesty.
Agreed.
I was about to post the same thing. When challenged about his opinion, Bork just flatly refused to discuss it: a sure indication that he realized it was unsupportable.
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