But these DC types are genetically just unable to keep themselves out of the public eye.
He was nominated for the SC by a dignified man, President Reagan. Unfairly or not, he didn't pass muster. That being said, too bad some of Ronnies's dignity didn't rub off on him.
Leni
I think he's got his shorts in a twist because a commoner is nominated for one of nine seats that are supposed to be reserved for scholarly royalty.
And that's how it can come to pass that Bork could be in favor of Ginsburg but come out against Miers. Even though Ginsburg goes against all conservative principles, she's part of the mandarin class.
Bork was a circuit judge for the United States Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit from 1982 to 1988, and was nominated by President Ronald Reagan to the Supreme Court in 1987.
A hotly contested Senate debate over his nomination then ensued, partly fueled by strong opposition by civil and women's rights groups concerned with what they claimed was Bork's desire to roll back civil rights decisions of the Warren and Burger courts.
Two dramatic events of the Senate debate were Senator Edward Kennedy's speech opposing Bork's nomination and the disclosure of Bork's video rental history.
Within an hour of Bork's nomination to the Court, Kennedy (D-MA) took to the Senate floor with a strong condemnation of it. "Robert Bork's America is a land in which women would be forced into back-alley abortions, blacks would sit at segregated lunch counters, rogue police could break down citizens' doors in midnight raids, children could not be taught about evolution," said Kennedy. Kennedy's speech fueled widespread public skepticism of Bork's nomination. Others, including Bork himself, found the speech an egregious misrepresentation of his views.
During debate over his nomination, Bork's video rental history was leaked to the press, which led to the Video Privacy Protection Act of 1988 being enacted. His video rental history included A Day at the Races, Ruthless People and The Man Who Knew Too Much.
To pro-choice rights groups, Bork's originalist views and his belief that the Constitution does not contain a "right to privacy" were viewed as a clear signal that, should he become a Justice on the Supreme Court, he would vote to reverse the Court's 1973 decision in Roe v. Wade.
Accordingly, a large number of womens' groups mobilized to press for Bork's rejection, and the resulting 1987 Senate confirmation hearings became an intensely ideological battle. On October 23, 1987, the Senate rejected Bork's confirmation by a 58-42 vote. The vacant seat on the court to which Bork was nominated eventually went to Justice Anthony Kennedy.
The history of Bork's disputed nomination is still a lightning rod in the contentious debate over the limits of the "Advice and Consent of the Senate" that the U.S. Constitution requires for presidents' judicial nominees.