Defining The Real Robert Bork

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The White House's depiction of Bork is a "campaign of misinformation," according to Ralph Neas, executive director of the Leadership Conference on Civil Rights. In coordinating the anti-Bork coalition, Neas and his allies have reviewed Bork's record as a Yale Law School professor, U.S. Solicitor General and a judge on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia.

The Public Citizen Litigation Group, an organization founded by Nader, released a report undermining the idea that Bork practices judicial restraint. "In divisive cases, you can predict Bork's vote with virtual complete accuracy, simply by identifying the parties in the case," charges Alan Morrison, head of the Litigation Group. Reviewing the judge's appeals-court votes in 56 split decisions, the Litigation Group said that Bork consistently found for the Government when it was sued by public-interest groups, consumers or workers. But in eight decisions in which business interests challenged the Executive Branch on regulatory or labor issues, Bork sided with business every time. Amid the furor over his nomination, Bork has been quietly lobbying for himself on Capitol Hill. He has met privately with nearly all the 14 members of the Senate Judiciary Committee, assuring the lawmakers that he would bring no prejudices to the court. Five Democratic committee members, however, are expected to vote against Bork, while five Republicans have declared their support. The three most likely swing votes: Republican Arlen Specter of Pennsylvania, Democrats Howell Heflin of Alabama and Dennis DeConcini of Arizona. Whatever the Judiciary Committee decides, the Bork nomination has become so controversial that the final battle over confirmation will take place in the full Senate.