Bork On Miers

Robert Bork carves away at Harriet Miers and GW in Opinion Journal today.

It's a well-argued piece; so well-argued that it shows just how damaging borking Bork was to our country. We would not be in the mess today if it weren't for Teddy Kennedy. (Speaking of Teddy, Incredible Daughter #1 read me some funny reactions from an online forum she likes to Teddy's recently aborted rescue mission, including: "Of course Teddy tried to rescue the guy -- he didn't drive him there!")

The take-away for me is that in the battle between the originalists and the "if it feels good, rule it" factions has made it impossible to nominate someone to the Supreme Court. As Bork puts it:

George W. Bush has sent a message to aspiring young originalists that it is better not to say anything remotely controversial, a sort of "Don't ask, don't tell" admonition to would-be judges. It is a blow in particular to the Federalist Society, most of whose members endorse originalism.

And it is just as bad a blow to the next aspiring Ginsberg clone, unless the Senate reaches an agreement to back off this destructive process, allow a judge to be considered as a judge, and assume an "advise and consent" role.

In that way, unqualified and crooked judges will rarely get onto the court, but qualified judges whose philosophy matches the president who nominated them, who in turn was elected by the people, will be seated.

That means no more Souters and, admittedly, no more Miers'. It also means more Borks, more Scalias and more Ginsbergs. I'll take a Ginsberg every now and then over this broken, meaningless and sham of a process.

And despite Bork's good arguments, "advise and consent" is originalism, and it trumps all the arguments of this most eloquent originalist.