Posted on 07/01/2005 5:03:46 AM PDT by linkinpunk
House Votes To Undercut 5-4 Ruling On Property
Federal Funds Tied To Eminent Domain
By Mike Allen and Charles Babington
Washington Post Staff Writers
Friday, July 1, 2005; Page A01
The House voted yesterday to use the spending power of Congress to undermine a Supreme Court ruling allowing local governments to force the sale of private property for economic development purposes. Key members of the House and Senate vowed to take even broader steps soon.
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The House measure, which passed 231 to 189, would deny federal funds to any city or state project that used eminent domain to force people to sell their property to make way for a profit-making project such as a hotel or mall.
/snip
The measure, an amendment to an appropriations bill, would apply to funds administered by the departments of Transportation, Treasury, and Housing and Urban Development. House Majority Leader Tom DeLay (R-Tex.) and Majority Whip Roy Blunt (R-Mo.) said they will push for a more inclusive measure that would apply to all federal funds.
/snip
Sen. John Cornyn (R-Tex.) introduced a similar measure and immediately drew a Democratic co-sponsor, Sen. Bill Nelson (Fla.), as well as Sen. Rick Santorum (R-Pa.), who is number three in his party's leadership. The House bill is sponsored by Judiciary Committee Chairman F. James Sensenbrenner Jr. (R-Wis.). Its Democratic co-sponsors include Reps. John Conyers Jr. (Mich.), Maxine Waters (Calif.) and Peter A. DeFazio (Ore.).
/snip
(Excerpt) Read more at washingtonpost.com ...
good ideas actually....those are things I didn't think about, but they would be within congressional power.
I like to use the word "feckless" whenever I can. It's such a good word, and so appropriate in this case.
I use feckless and shiftless for my in-laws.
I hear ya. My nephews.
DUH!!!
What a DOPE she is!
The House has done the right thing by their voting.
Of course such a response from Pelosi (D-Calif.)only verifies again the Left's long standing intent to have their agenda legislated from the bench by liberal judges for laws and a government the majority does not want!!.
Yes, that's why Justice Thomas reminded us that the black community used to say that Urban Renewal actually meant Negroe Removal.
Let see how the Lords and Ladies of the Senate vote on this one.
Federal funds tied to eminent domain projects only, or funds to the cities and towns which invoke those processes?
How many hotels, malls, and casinos, etc are actually built with federal funds?
I'd like to see some development in those California beach areas where many movie stars reside.
In fact, it is my opinion that the Kennedy compound in Hyannisport, Mass. is nothing more than an eyesore! A nice, new, modern resort would probably bring some increased tax revenues there for the citizens of Hyannis. You can watch the Nantucket ferry from that beach, and of course Nantucket itself is loaded with great beach front property ready for development.
They need to add language to the bill that specifically excludes it from SCTOUS review.
Sheesh, Pelosi reveals that she believes an activist court makes laws and the Congress enforces them. What a twit.
Maybe they could just re-print the Fifth Amendment, but add "...and we really, really mean it this time!".
These are the kind of statistics we need to keep reading to fight the dems in upcoming elections.
about damn time congress did something about this fiasco!
Pelosi and the Dims think Kelo is a great decision - why wouldn't they? After all, it undermines private property rights, so of course Pelosi and the rest of them, who would turn all private property over to the state given half a chance, are going to support it.
However, they know it's a very unpopular decision, and therein lies the dilemma - how to support it without looking like they're supporting it. In the old Dinosaur Media world, they'd just let the furor die down and then start the re-education campaign in the press, probably by painting opponents of Kelo as racists, the privileged rich and white standing in the schoolhouse door of government making life better for all minorities by ensuring property is "fairly" used. By doing this, they could probably realistically hope to make Kelo "untouchable" in the way Roe vs. Wade is; elevating to it practically a sacrament. That would be in a world where all information was controlled by CBS, ABC, NBC, the Washington Post and the New York Times.
However, in today's world of other media sources, they could never make that fly. And so they're reduced to appealing to the "sanctity of the courts", the "GOP abuse of power", and "Republican war on the judiciary" canards. Comments like Pelosi's will only get shriller and more hysterical as the Republicans continue to press the issue. Start looking for the playing of the "dividing the country" card, the "why are the Republicans wasting time on this while US troops are dying in Iraq" card, the push polls "showing" that no one cares about Kelo, and, once all of the above fail to gain any traction, the race card as described above. Once that one comes down we'll know their backs are against the wall.
I assume that Chris Shays is yet another RINO who voted against this measure. What about Walter Jones from NC?
That's the point!
I've been talking with some of my friends who I would consider apolitical, who have never expressed an opinion on any political topic through three Presidents, four wars, and the reign of Clintigula I. But they have all had opinions on Kelo. They are homeowners, and they see this law as an attack on their very way of life.
People really care about this one. If the Donks don't get on the right side of this issue, they are finished as a national party.
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