Jonathan Bernstein, Columnist

Robert Bork Wouldn't Have Changed History

The Supreme Court, bending to the people's will.

June 29, 2015 at 1:21 PM UTC

Jonathan Bernstein is a Bloomberg Opinion columnist covering politics. A former professor of political science at the University of Texas at San Antonio, he wrote A Plain Blog About Politics.

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As the U.S. Supreme Court ends its eventful term this week, many political analysts are stepping back to look at the history leading up to its important decisions, particularly on the marriage case. The name that keeps coming up is Robert Bork.

Bork was the conservative firebrand who was Ronald Reagan's first choice to fill a Supreme Court vacancy in 1987. The Senate blocked him. Reagan eventually named Anthony Kennedy instead, a far less controversial choice.