Who’s Afraid of Robert Bork?

Democrats must be having second thoughts about congressional inquisitions these days. For almost 15 years the tactic has worked like a charm: Portray a political disagreement, even a nomination, as a scandal (no crime is necessary—the “appearance” or even the “perception” of impropriety will do); set up one of these quasijudicial show trials wherein Congress plays judge and prosecutor, while the defense doesn’t play at all and can’t be acquitted because there is no definite charge and no verdict; get the press to cooperate by airing a constant succession of new charges before the old ones can be answered—and soon the public will believe that where there is smoke there is fire. In a decade and a half the Democrats have not once prevailed in an important national political struggle except through one of these show trials.

Then came Ollie, who discovered the key to the Democrats’ success: The Republicans’ guilty consciences make cowards of them all. A man who understands this, and who moreover realizes that the Democrats play this game only because they are afraid to contest the issues, can make your average congressman sorry he ever saw a television camera.

RV

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Richard Vigilante

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Democrats must be having second thoughts about congressional inquisitions these days. For almost 15 years the tactic has worked like a charm: Portray a political disagreement, even a nomination, as a scandal (no crime is necessary—the “appearance” or even the “perception” of impropriety will do); set up one of these quasijudicial show trials wherein Congress plays judge and prosecutor, while the defense doesn’t play at all and can’t be acquitted because there is no definite charge and no verdict; get the press to cooperate by airing a constant succession of new charges before the old ones can be answered—and soon the public will believe that where there is smoke there is fire. In a decade and a half the Democrats have not once prevailed in an important national political struggle except through one of these show trials.

Then came Ollie, who discovered the key to the Democrats’ success: The Republicans’ guilty consciences make cowards of them all. A man who understands this, and who moreover realizes that the Democrats play this game only because they are afraid to contest the issues, can make your average congressman sorry he ever saw a television camera.