Love these old News Hour clips. If they aren't already all online, they should put them all online. RIP Robert Bork.

They actually let the guest (nominee) time to speak. Today, it is nothing more than a series of talking points by the Senator/Representative, leaving next to no time for the guest to answer. That said, they still came into the hearing with their minds already made up!

Always a gentleman.

Robert H. Bork very smart man

Robert Bork is the model that no subsequent nominee followed. People complain about Supreme Court nominees not telling us nothing and being general in their answers but when someone like Bork gives us what we want we reject their nomination.

I may be naive but Bork didn't paint himself as stupidly as most other politicos

Wow, Bork was brilliant! Supreme Court Nomination hearings are a joke nowadays. The depth of his responses is unparalleled. Contrast these hearings with the hearings over the last 10 years.

That killer was sitting in judgment of Bork!

Damn we really missed out this guy was good !

Judge Bork went to my church. I saw him there most Sundays.

For the shenanigans during the Kavanaugh hearing, this hearing was what paved the way for that behavior. Thanks Kennedy

Thomas Jefferson wrote, in his notes on Virginia, that once HIS idea of what the Constitution represented, that that, was the Republic vetted. His Republic, was the Republic that had the integrity and should be the Constitution of "We, the People". Thomas Jeffersons Constitution is what Lincoln used to describe as a Government Of the People, By the People, For the people.

The laughter in the room at 11:32 is why you never ask an intelligent man a dumb question with people around.

Today's senators could learn something from senators of the past who didn't constantly say reclaim my time reclaim my time when somebody they're questioning is speaking

Bork would have made a great Supreme Court Justice. What a shame he didn't.

C- Biden from no name law school asking about a wire tap and condoms. Little surprise here.

It is a pity that Robert Bork was not nominated, he would have been a great judge in the Supreme Court.

What a shame. Bork was brilliant.

Long live robert bork s legacy

Brilliant mind!

That s right

and sometimes they give us bad ones.

I'm not joking, he looks like exactly like my local plumber.

He makes a lot of sense and has common sense

I was in third grade at this time, and I wrote a letter to Senator D'Amato asking him to vote no. I said 'Judge Bork doesn't care about Black peoples' rights." The real reason I hated Bork was that they cancelled my cartoons to put this hearing on TV.

IMO Bork was not confirmed because of his actions during watergate during a democratic majority and his closing remarks on why he wanted to serve on the high court.

5:46 "I don't want to be regarded as an apparatchik, an organization man who will do whatever the organization wants". No republican today would ever actually think this.

"Isn't that a bogus argument. we're not talking about unisex toliets here we're talking about fundamental rights". Fast forward 40 yrs same room there arguing for unisex toliets lol

Bork calling Orson, Bork calling Orson, come in Orson ... was this guy from another planet? =P

1. Bork got Borked 2. Clearance got Borked 3. Kavanaugh got Borked 4. Who's next

Brilliant mind

Sen Kennedy...nobody lower...paved the way for Gross Bad Manners in politics...

who's the lady in the gray suit behind him?

@nedster7 I agree most laws need to be repealed as their unintended consequences are limiting our freedoms and doing nothing, or making worse, for the lives of the ones they are purported to help. This action of massive repeals would probably keep Congress busy day and night for years.

Judge Bork should be on the Supreme Court right now.

It’s so interesting watching this. Bork isn’t dumb. He’s just very much his own man and absolutely not afraid to be himself. Some people love that. Others don’t because it makes them question the need to conform and fit in. I like Bork but at the end of the day, his role in the Saturday Night massacre during the Watergate Scandal was probably what really sunk his nomination. That and originalist interpretations of the constitution are by their nature extremely partisan.

Interesting

Robert Bork would have been a good justice.

@Zachw2007 Agreed.

Blessed are the Peacemakers - ALL who in their God Ordained Office Only desire for ALL in their sphere of influence to know why they do what they do and to change course NOW - if they so desire - before it is forever too late!

Judge Bork was a better man than what the media assumed at that time. RS. Canada

Reminder: Bork was given a full hearing in a Democratic Senate, which resulted in a 5-9 vote against him. Bork then demanded a vote from the full Senate anyway, Democrats obliged! And he was again voted down again 42-58, with six Republicans voting no. Bork was no victim. He was an extreme, weird nominee. But false memory of Republican nominated judges reflects the media bubble conservatives populate where old grievances are chewed over endlessly.

15:15 now what do we have?

#1 NOW IS A PERFECT TIME TO TAKE A LOOK AT *TERM LIMITS FOR ALL FEDERAL JUDGES *THE REAL-ISSUE CONCERNING SUPREME COURT JUSTICES = 3/4 OF A CENTURY FOR ONE MIND-SET ON A BENCH IS JUST TOO LONG!!! This is predicated on the answer to the question: Why are POLITICIANS from both parties clamoring so fervently to nominate Justices to all of the Federal Court benches? The answer to that question provides a clear understanding of how Americans have come to view our Federal Judges, and that is, as an arm of each political party, respectively. And the main follow-through on this fact is that Judges these days are more-than-willing to issue partisan rulings these days. This is in fact, realized, in the many rulings that have been issued from the various benches, from the lower Courts, right up through the Applet Courts, and through to the Supreme Court of these Lands. Just look at the resent Florida Court ruling on the "restoration of felon's right's to vote in elections. Consider the referendum-vote of the people of Florida, who voted overwhelming to give those rights back to those felons who have served their time for crimes committed." The Governor of Florida, Ron DeSantis, in his plight to manipulate the voter-ranks in the 2020 election, devised a plan to withhold the restoration of those felon's rights by arbitrarily imposing the requirement that those felons must pay back any fines before being able to vote. Moving through the court system, the claims of those felons, that this was not the People's Will, was dismissed by (Republican favored) Applet Judges, in favor of the voter-suppressing Republican Governor. This sort of ruling is plainly clear that Federal Judges are becoming increasingly partisan with their rulings. This could come back to find the Republican ranks on the other side of such future partisan rulings. So this is the solution: "We need to find a way to take partisanship out of our judicial system, the way it was intended in the first place. We need Term Limits for our Federal Judges, and a reform of the process of which they are appointed to the Benches" I believe, with the modern political climate, it will be impossible to solve, that is, within the process justices are appointed today. I believe the American People would be better served if our Judges were VOTED onto the benches by both branches of the government: House and the Senate. Most importantly, I believe LIFE APPOINTMENTS to the Bench is severely problematic for the Republic. Three quarters of a century could go by, having a partisan Justice sitting on the bench skewing rulings that only make sense to a small number of American Citizens. This has to change if we are to have a better system of government. The course we are on now will only render the US looking more and more like Belarus of today.

This is the last time a Supreme Court nominee was able to openly articulate his/her views. Now all they do is obfuscate and stall during the hearings in order not to get "Borked" by the opposition

Stunning intellect ( Bork ). Wonder how it would have turned out with him on SC.

Judy Woodward so cute back then, Bork would have been best judge in history

@checkersisfortramps You're wrong there are three branches; judiciary, legislature i.e. Senate/House and the Executive i.e. President and his Cabinet. Your thinking of Parliamentary where the Legislature and the executive are a fused to some deegre

Notice how Bork thought of himself as an Aparatchik, but not a "Useful Idiot"( which is not a slander)

@Zachw2007 his only problem was pride and that he needed to show the entire room that he was smarter than them, which he was. if he only kept it together, he would have gotten confirmed.

Strom!

Too bad Judge Bork did not make it on the bench. I think he would have made a great justice.

While he was able to think on his feet, Borks continous reliance on inconsistent excuses was probably a bad reflection on his character. His explanation of the Saturday night massacre sounds suspiciously too convenient.

I'd never actually seen Bork's testimony before. Thanks for the upload. Compared to most of the justices who've been confirmed since, Bork seems both level-headed and super smart. That Thomas, Suter and Sotomayor are wearing robes and this guy isn't ranks up there with Chappaquiddick among Teddy's greatest disgraces.

What a waste, Bork was sharp.

20:13 that assumption would not be born in reality, Justice John Marshall Harlan said so immediately- not over time.

Right off the bat his firing of Cox did not make him look particularly good to me. It was a mistake.

If Bork had been confirmed, how likely do you think it is that the Court would have overturned the Roe V. Wade decision in Casey or one of the other abortion cases? Furthermore, what would the court look like now if he were on it (making allowances for his age of course).

I never heard a candidate so forthright in his answers!

March

I-I think it was the “spooky” frightening beard that caused Judge Robert Bork’s non-confirmation to the Supreme Court. -He obviously was intelligent educated man and seemed a decent guy. RS. Canada

Ted Kennedy... He's getting his just desserts as we speak.

If they'd known about the deal he made with Nixon, Reagan wouldn't have nominated him.

A white Democrat from Alabama? That’s different.

Big Al Simpson, always a pisser!

Regarding Griswold and Connecticut's ban on contraception, the law was NOT dead letter. Arrests were few because the law chilled doctors', nurses', pharmacists', health clinics', etc. interest in discussing, prescribing, and dispensing contraceptives. Also the ban had two parts. The first prohibited consumer use The second banned aiding and abetting anyone so they use contraception. This part of the law war enforced against health care providers. Otherwise, there would have been no defendants who could sue for the law to be declared unconstitutional.

Hello random person. Good luck on the civics homework.

12:05- 16:32 Robert Bork. 💯 Qualified for supreme court justice. What a disgrace democratic left media and senators tarnished his reputation.

@lladnarg murder requires intent to kill - if anything, I think it would have been negligent homicide...

Wow, this in a Supreme Court confirmation hearing? I’m aghast! Why was this allowed to happen? WAY too political of a candidate!! Toxic candidate, terrible, terrible choice!! 🤯 And Biden - what a jerk! 😝

10:49

9:37 Bork is obviously right and damn clear on this point, and here comes 11:12 Joe Biden with one of the dumbest hypotheticals ever. A wiretap to check for use of rubbers? Even the audience is amused.

When the democratic party had some brains 15:26 "That's bogus, We're not talking about unisex toilet seats"

Yep, it's nice to hear someone mention this, however rare it is anymore. I like to say, it's suppose to be a system of checks and balances, and that includes the people too. Of course, people are so ingrained in the thought of democracy and "rights", and I'm sure I don't need to explain this to you, it don't go over too well.

Ah, the post-Nixon era....what a circus!

Mary Jo Kopechne couldn't be reached for comment.🏊

dont understand who would you ask bork about his beard what do this have do with it dont judge im just beacouse of the beard

Robe her toes. Then we need lower case robes. Safe and culturally upsetting to the farther cases. I agree here. We don't withstand the same rigors, figures and burdens. So it's no right here to be held by the judgements of the far past made far away. Especially where cars and trucks aren't yet rights a they're pulled up out of our crater lake valley. How did they ever drive to school, much less trial?

Judge bork ,a good man!

Bork? More like DORK! 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This guy taught one future President and taught the wife of that President that almost became President.

@ToxicOdiousOne How is the Civil Rights Act unconsitutional?

Bork getting turned down is equivalent to George Washington getting taken out of history books in favor of Madonna...which if you didn't know, is actually happening.

The law was enforced oncw bork. You lose bork. Injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere, judge bork

The right of privacy is one of those rights which is a limit on the powers of government, even if not specifically in the Constitution. There are restrictions to government powers, and when a right is not specifically protected in the constitution, it is still up to the courts to keep government constrained within its define powers, instead of allowing the government to infringed on the unemurated rights of people. Thank God Bork is not on the court...

Senate

Okay he can placed on the Supreme Court Now.

You know, Robert Bork sounds to have been a brilliant man, one who puts to shame a lot of the potential justices in their confirmation hearings, Alito and Kavanaugh being two examples. As a matter of fact, I remember his hearings, and even back then I didn't understand the ruckus the Democrats were making. Of course, I hadn't understood at that time that the Democrats were smearing him based on the fact that they didn't want ANY Republican nominee to be confirmed, that it wouldn't have mattered WHO was nominated; the Democrats were going to gang up on them. How far we've sunk.

'Supreme Revenge':))

NOTHING had changed!!

Congress

But for evil men in the Senate Robert Bork would have been the greatest Jurist our country has ever known. Special place in hell for those who discredited him.

Never voted Democrat again after this hearing.... he was a great jurist.

10:32 14:47

Alas, some bedroom activity becomes public when an abortion is sought. And what about contraceptives, which laws prohibited once? Had the Founders ever considered the possibility that the government would someday interfere with doctors' treatment of patients? Would they have approved? Of course, there is also the issue of abortions being illegal in the 18th and 19th centuries mainly because they killed so many women; were newer justifications for making them illegal on the Founders' minds? These tired old issues remain many years later when wisdom and common sense should have laid them to rest.

Bork was an amazing man with an amazing mind

Bork went ahead and fired the prosecutor...and no one in that office would have felt any threat or pressure...nothing got in the wya...hahahahaha ...

7:00 Alan Simpson was hilarious

Bork was a nut.

Station XI, Meditation: Recall how Jesus lies down upon His Cross , and how He extends His arms to offer up the sacrifice of His life for our salvation. The soldiers nail Him, hands and feet, to His gibbet. And then they raise it, leaving Him to die upon it in terrible anguish.