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Like Democrats did to Bork, GOP should nix Obama nominee

Senate Minority Leader Harry Reid, D-Nev., center, joined at right by Sen. Patrick Leahy, D-Vt., the ranking member of the Senate Judiciary Committee, and other Democrats, urges Senate Republicans to relent on their decision to take no action on anyone President Barack Obama nominates to fill the Supreme Court vacancy created by the death of Justice Antonin Scalia, at the Supreme Court on Capitol Hill in Washington, Thursday, Feb. 25, 2016. (AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite)
Senate Minority Leader Harry Reid, D-Nev., center, joined at right by Sen. Patrick Leahy, D-Vt., the ranking member of the Senate Judiciary Committee, and other Democrats, urges Senate Republicans to relent on their decision to take no action on anyone President Barack Obama nominates to fill the Supreme Court vacancy created by the death of Justice Antonin Scalia, at the Supreme Court on Capitol Hill in Washington, Thursday, Feb. 25, 2016. (AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite) J. Scott Applewhite AP

In 1987 Robert Bork's nomination to the U.S. Supreme Court was rejected with 52 Democratic Party senators voting "No." This was, in my opinion, a crime against democracy!

Mr. Bork's history and legal positions were distorted in a speech by Ted Kennedy. A brief was prepared for Joe Biden, head of the Senate Judiciary Committee, called the Biden Report.

Bork's quote, later published in his book, "The Tempting of America," was: the report "so thoroughly misrepresented a plain record that it easily qualified as world class in the category of scurrility."

The NAACP, under executive director Benjamin Hooks, described their position regarding Bork as "We will fight it all the way -- until hell freezes over, and then we'll skate across on the ice."

This, again, in my opinion, represents an injustice of an highly respected American by this group. Also, the ACLU opposed his nomination!

And, later, "Bork" became a verb! William Safire of the New York Times first described this usage on Aug. 20, 1987. The Oxford English Dictionary now says "Bork you" refers to those folks who do so, "with the aim of preventing (a person's) appointment to public office."

It is now time for the Republicans to use the verbiage, "Bork you" to President Obama.

David Cohen

Myakka City

This story was originally published February 26, 2016 at 12:00 AM with the headline "Like Democrats did to Bork, GOP should nix Obama nominee ."

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