Word: bork
(lookup in dictionary)
(lookup stats)
Dates: all
Sort By: most recent first
(reverse)
...Though Bork supporters and opponents quibbled over the precise Senate head count, even the most optimistic estimates for Bork fell at least eight votes short of a majority. At week's end many liberals and conservatives who had fought fiercely over the nomination since July were finally in agreement on the outcome of the battle: Robert Bork will not serve on the Supreme Court. "I think ((the Administration)) will have to withdraw the nomination," declared California Democrat Alan Cranston, the Senate majority whip. Conceded Kevin Phillips, a conservative political analyst: "I don't see that they have any choice...
...President contended that he has no plans to take Bork out of the running. "I don't think it's decided yet," Reagan said, "and I'm working my head off to make sure we don't lose it." Administration head counters say that 43 Senators favor Bork and deduce that some 17 are still undecided. Last week the President met with five of the fence sitters in the White House. Reagan is hoping he will have at least a couple of weeks for intensive lobbying between Tuesday's scheduled Judiciary Committee vote and a full Senate roll call...
Whatever the countdown to the Bork vote, Reagan seems determined to keep pushing for his nominee. The President, who was said to be dismayed at the "partisanship and political savagery" of the anti-Bork campaign, made three speeches for his nominee last week. He also devoted his Saturday radio address to the Bork battle. "Tell your Senators to resist the politicization of our court system," Reagan urged listeners. "Tell them you support the appointment of Judge Robert Bork." Administration sources said the President is even considering a televised speech to the nation to call for Bork's confirmation. Declared Washington...
Amid the turmoil surrounding his nomination, Bork has continued his visits with key Senators, tirelessly explaining his stands on legal issues, struggling to convince lawmakers that he is the right man for the Supreme Court. Though one Reagan aide described Bork as "nervous as a tic," he insists that the judge has never talked about withdrawing his nomination. "He was not asked to ((withdraw)) and didn't raise it" during a 20-minute pep talk with the President at the White House last week, said the aide. An official who spent a good deal of time with Bork last week...
Some conservatives blame a wrong-headed White House game plan for the setback on the Bork nomination. "The slippage we've seen is a reflection of the strategy of trying to change this guy into a friendly, bearded moderate," says Kevin Phillips. Indeed, since the summer, the Administration has countered charges that Bork is a right-wing zealot by depicting the judge as an open-minded centrist. Bork portrayed himself in the same light during his five days of Senate testimony last month. But in the process, he revised or backed away from some of his more conservative stands...