Word: bork
(lookup in dictionary)
(lookup stats)
Dates: during 1980-1989
Sort By: most recent first
(reverse)
...Robert Bork was ready to give up. After a punishing confirmation ordeal, his appointment to the U.S. Supreme Court faced near certain defeat as a majority of Senators joined the tide against him. After wearily advising Ronald Reagan and Attorney General Edwin Meese that he had little fight left in him, the judge retreated last Thursday afternoon to his judicial chambers, where he began writing an angry statement withdrawing his nomination for the job he had wanted most of his career...
Making the decision had been wrenching. Last Wednesday, the day after the Senate Judiciary Committee advised against his confirmation, Bork met with a group of die-hard Republican supporters on Capitol Hill. Of the 16 in attendance, all except Wyoming's Alan Simpson, one of Bork's most ardent backers, argued that the judge should let his nomination go to the floor. "There could be 60 votes against him," Simpson hedged. "I don't think a recorded vote like that would be good for Judge Bork...
...Bork found himself buffeted by conflicting counsel from friends. Washington Lawyer Leonard Garment (who irritated Bork by presuming to act as his public spokesman) yelled at him, "If you pull out, you're a quitter!" But Irving Kristol, a conservative author, urged him to cut his losses and withdraw. Tired of the emotionally draining experience and bitter about his inevitable defeat, Bork slipped into the White House Wednesday afternoon and told the President he was inclined...
...Bork was unswayed by the argument that by continuing the battle he would force a recorded vote on the issue, thus discomforting some of the Southern Democrats who had lined up against him. "I'm not a politician," he told the President. "I don't really understand this business of making them pay a price. I've got a life to lead." Reagan assured his nominee he would understand if he decided to pull out. The following day, Bork's wife and two sons accompanied him to a meeting with Meese...
...Bork was composing his withdrawal speech that afternoon, Simpson called. "I've been thinking it over," the Senator said. "You ought to stand up for the principle involved if you think you can do it." Bork's resolve began to weaken. Meanwhile, his family debated the decision in a law clerks' lounge across the hall. Soon after he finished talking to Simpson, they entered his chambers. "Something's bothering us," Charles Bork told his father. "You can't quit. To quit now would be to a great degree to concede the validity of the attack against...