So Many Republican Hypocrites, So Little Time

June 15, 2007 | SEND TO A FRIEND | GET EARLY NOTICE OF THE HOTW

Robert Bork

Welcome back to the BuzzFlash GOP Hypocrite of the Week.

Robert Bork has made a living out of being the bilious, hateful symbol of right wing jurists. Since he was "Borked" and denied a seat on the Supreme Court in 1987, the former Nixon hit man has become even more embittered.

According to Wikipedia, "Bork served as acting Attorney General of the United States from 1973 to 1974. As acting Attorney General, he is known for carrying out U.S. President Richard Nixon's order to fire Watergate Special Prosecutor Archibald Cox following Cox's request for tapes of Oval Office conversations. The firing incident is known as the "Saturday Night Massacre." Nixon's Attorney General Elliot Richardson and Richardson's Deputy Attorney General, William Ruckelshaus, resigned rather than carry out the order. Bork, next in line after Richardson and Ruckelshaus, became acting head of the Justice Department, and Nixon reiterated his order to fire Cox. Bork complied with Nixon's order and fired Cox. He subsequently resumed his duties as Solicitor General."

Wow, what a pedigree! And at the favored right wing "think tank" of Cheney and Bush -- the American Enterprise Institute -- Bork championed such favorite GOP goals as "tort reform" in the ongoing Republican effort to please corporations by limiting the right to sue for injuries and damages.

So it came as a bit of a hypocritical surprise that Bork recently sued the Yale Club of New York for $1 million. What was the basis of the suit?

You guessed it. Bork is asking for damages on the basis of claiming he suffered a disabling injury due to the negligence of the Yale Club. According to Wikipedia, "On June 6, 2007, Bork filed suit in federal court in New York City against the Yale Club over an incident that had occurred a year earlier. Bork alleged that, while trying to reach the dais to speak at an event, he fell, because of the Yale Club's failure to provide any steps or handrail between the floor and the dais. According to the complaint, Bork's injuries required surgery, immobilized him for months, forced him to use a cane, and left him with a limp. Ted Frank, a resident fellow at the American Enterprise Institute, who, like Bork, has been a proponent of 'tort reform' measures to restrict plaintiffs' rights, criticized the suit as 'embarrassingly silly.'"

Silly indeed, and worthy of naming the prickly Bork as the BuzzFlash GOP Hypocrite of the Week.

Until next week, remember our motto: So many Republican hypocrites, so little time.

Catch up with you soon.