Robert Bork

Apr 22, 2013, Vol. 18, No. 30 • By THE SCRAPBOOK

The Scrapbook had the melancholy pleasure last week of attending a memorial service, at the Mayflower Hotel in Washington, for Robert Bork, who died a few days before Christmas. Judge Bork was properly eulogized at the time, but his death has rekindled a new interest in and appreciation of his wide-ranging influence on legal philosophy and public policy. As was said of Learned Hand earlier in the last century, Robert Bork was undoubtedly the most influential lawyer of his time not to have served on the Supreme Court.

This memorial service, however, was of another order. Certainly the highlights of Bork’s career were recalled, as well as the crucible of his nomination to the Court. But perhaps because the service was organized by his family, and attended by a gathering of friends and admirers, it was Bork the man, not Bork the legal scholar or public figure, who was fondly remembered. The speakers included former colleagues, ex-students-turned-professors, even an editor; and the talk was interrupted for a dozen minutes or so as a pianist played two eloquent preludes by Rachmaninoff.

The Scrapbook, for its part, was struck by two thoughts: first, that Robert Bork, although a “controversial” figure and controversialist in the public sphere, seems all his days to have kept politics and the business of life in sharp perspective. A passionate student and exponent of the law, he understood its relative importance in the scheme of things: There is more to life than public policy, and the first duty of a public figure is to be a good human being. Which leads to the second thought: For all his rigorous intellect, and formidable exterior, Robert Bork was a man of great good humor and personal charm, blessed with a healthy dose of humility, and dry wit.

Since the service took place in Washington, there was some emphasis on Judge Bork’s pivotal role in historic episodes, including Watergate; and at a later reception, no less than Chief Justice John Roberts lamented the loss to the country, and the disgrace of the U.S. Senate, when Bork’s Supreme Court nomination was defeated. Yet the underlying message of the service was sanguine, not mournful: A great and good man has passed from the scene, and the loss is profound. But Robert Bork’s life was a triumph in retrospect; even in Washington, greatness and goodness will attract a grateful multitude to fill a hotel ballroom to overflowing.

Apr 22, 2013, Vol. 18, No. 30 • By THE SCRAPBOOK

The Scrapbook had the melancholy pleasure last week of attending a memorial service, at the Mayflower Hotel in Washington, for Robert Bork, who died a few days before Christmas. Judge Bork was properly eulogized at the time, but his death has rekindled a new interest in and appreciation of his wide-ranging influence on legal philosophy and public policy. As was said of Learned Hand earlier in the last century, Robert Bork was undoubtedly the most influential lawyer of his time not to have served on the Supreme Court.

The experience, and good sense, of Robert Bork.

Mar 4, 2013, Vol. 18, No. 24 • By J. HARVIE WILKINSON III

The death of Robert Bork this past December brought forth tributes to a man bearing no resemblance to the grotesque caricatures that emerged during the long debate over his 1987 nomination to the Supreme Court. Widely noted were his unswerving loyalty to friends and principles, his seminal intellect, his acerbic but not unkind humor and wit, and his lifelong sense of service and duty to his country.

The experience, and good sense, of Robert Bork.

Mar 4, 2013, Vol. 18, No. 24 • By J. HARVIE WILKINSON III

The death of Robert Bork this past December brought forth tributes to a man bearing no resemblance to the grotesque caricatures that emerged during the long debate over his 1987 nomination to the Supreme Court. Widely noted were his unswerving loyalty to friends and principles, his seminal intellect, his acerbic but not unkind humor and wit, and his lifelong sense of service and duty to his country.

Dec 31, 2012, Vol. 18, No. 16 • By WILLIAM KRISTOL

"There were giants in the earth in those days.” The death on December 19 of Robert Bork—superb legal scholar, preeminent constitutional thinker, principled public servant—calls to mind the other giants of American conservatism who have left us in the last decade: Bill Buckley and Irving Kristol, Milton Friedman and James Q. Wilson, Richard John Neuhaus and Jeane Kirkpatrick, Ronald Reagan and Jack Kemp. They were the greatest conservative generation.

Dec 31, 2012, Vol. 18, No. 16 • By WILLIAM KRISTOL

"There were giants in the earth in those days.” The death on December 19 of Robert Bork—superb legal scholar, preeminent constitutional thinker, principled public servant—calls to mind the other giants of American conservatism who have left us in the last decade: Bill Buckley and Irving Kristol, Milton Friedman and James Q. Wilson, Richard John Neuhaus and Jeane Kirkpatrick, Ronald Reagan and Jack Kemp. They were the greatest conservative generation.

ADVANCE EDITORIAL from the December 31, 2012 - January 7, 2013 issue.

12:00 AM, Dec 21, 2012 • By WILLIAM KRISTOL

“There were giants in the earth in those days.” The death on December 19 of Robert Bork—superb legal scholar, preeminent constitutional thinker, principled public servant—calls to mind the other giants of American conservatism who have left us in the last decade: Bill Buckley and Irving Kristol, Milton Friedman and James Q. Wilson, Richard John Neuhaus and Jeane Kirkpatrick, Ronald Reagan and Jack Kemp. They were the greatest conservative generation. They rode into the valley of liberal orthodoxies and emerged sometimes triumphant, always unbowed. When can their glory fade? They left our nation stronger and better for their efforts.

12:25 PM, Dec 19, 2012 • By TWS PODCAST

THE WEEKLY STANDARD podcast with Bill Kristol, hosted by Michael Graham:

11:38 AM, Dec 19, 2012 • By DANIEL HALPER

Joe Lieberman, the former Democratic vice presidential cadidate, released this statement on the passing of Robert Bork:

9:56 AM, Dec 19, 2012 • By WILLIAM KRISTOL

Robert H. Bork, a superb legal scholar, principled public servant, fine judge, and important social critic—withal, a great American—died early this morning from heart complications. He was 84.

3:32 PM, Jun 21, 2010 • By JOHN MCCORMACK

In a YouTube clip making the rounds, Elena Kagan says that the Robert Bork hearings were "the best thing that ever happened to constitutional democracy."

That's aside from the slandering of Bork as a racist and fascist and persecuting him for his religious beliefs, right?

The experience, and good sense, of Robert Bork.

The experience, and good sense, of Robert Bork.

ADVANCE EDITORIAL from the December 31, 2012 - January 7, 2013 issue.

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