Posted on 01/23/2016 10:01:45 PM PST by Cincinatus' Wife
DES MOINES - If nothing else, Donald Trump certainly didn't toe the company line or kowtow to the citizens of Pella, Iowa, while touting his support for eminent domain during his second campaign stop in the Hawkeye State on Saturday.
With only eight days until voting, the Republican Party front-runner continued to back eminent domain before a crowd interspersed with locals from Pella and Oskaloosa as the two cities continue to push to build a regional airport next to Highway 163 using the practice. Twice, Trump called the practice a "positive thing" while talking up the necessity of its use.
"I'm not in love with eminent domain, but eminent domain is a good thing. It's necessary," Trump said, adding later that "eminent domain is something that's a positive thing - not a negative thing. Yeah, sometimes cities will use it in order to do business."
"Let's say a person has a house or a person has a backyard and they're going to build a factory that's going to employ 5,000 people, and sometimes the city will use the power," Trump said. "And by the way, if you don't get that property, they're going to go to another city, and they're going to spend millions of dollars and they're going to build a factory there, they're going to employ 5,000 people - but not in your city. Eminent domain is a positive thing. It's got to be used judiciously."
According to reports, the building of the proposed airport, which has been talked about for over a decade, would seek to use eminent domain to take property from nine separate properties. Despite largely enjoying Trump's remarks, locals in the crowd admitted they were a little surprised Trump used the occasion to support the idea.
"If I had to say yes or no to the airport ... I would say no. It's going to be a huge tax burden on the community. I don't want to see that," said Guy Schwab, a Pella resident. "I don't want to be given the bill for ... private enterprise thinking that they want something. Right now, we've got private businesses that front that airport. I don't want the bill."
Schwab, a 65-year-old impending retiree, argued that the airport isn't a necessity as the two current airports (Pella and Ottumwa) aren't deficient structurally or financially.
In his pitch, Trump also touched on the building of pipelines, specifically mentioning the Keystone XL and Bakken pipelines, which runs from Northwest to Southeast Iowa to deliver crude oil from North Dakota to Illinois.
"Where else is eminent domain used? For pipelines. All of these [GOP 2016 candidates] are in favor of the Keystone pipeline," Trump said. "You couldn't build five feet of the Keystone pipeline without eminent domain. It's going through people's farms, it's going through people's houses."
"Without it, you wouldn't have any highways, you wouldn't have laws," Trump continued. "Did anyone know that that's how you build roads and thats how you build schools and that's how you build other things?"
Bob Owens, a 61-year-old resident of Pella, agreed partly with Trump's points, stating, "yeah, you've got to think about progress, and you've got to think about things that [Trump] was talking about. But when it gets to actual personal and talking about taking away your farm, then it gets to be a little bit of a different deal [who's against the airport.] We have a good airport. We have an airport that's functional. I just personally don't think there's a need for it."
Although the situation is in limbo, the stance of many area residents is clear with signs lining Highway 163 protesting the airport. Other candidates who have come into the area have taken on the issue directly, with Sen. Rand Paul hosting a town hall on the subject in Oskaloosa on Jan. 7.
Trump is currently in a heated battle with Sen. Ted Cruz to win Iowa. According to the latest RealClearPolitics average, Trump leads by 2.5 points over the Texas senator. In the Washington Examiner's presidential power rankings, Cruz is in first place with Trump in second. While Trump is slated to make stops in Iowa on both Sunday and Tuesday, Cruz will be holding events from Monday to Friday, with the two meeting Thursday at the GOP debate in Des Moines.
Why don’t you just point out that Castrus joined FR in 2009 and you joined in 1999 so all your opinions should be considered over his.
I joined in 2015 so obviously I’m a shill for somebody.
May answer is they don’t sell and the courts should stand up for their right not to. And the pipeline people find a new route with people willing to cooperate. Kelo causes a problem there though... There may be state law that doesn’t allow the business to force a sale protecting the owner.
The pipelines I’m familiar with don’t cut the property into pieces or cause much of an issue. They are underground. There’s simply an easement allowing access to the pipeline to maintain it. The pipeline owner pays for that easement and is usually cheaper than buying the land. Once the pipeline is complete you don’t know its their short of warning markers periodically. The property owner can farm over it etc. Being an easement the property owner still owns the property but is limited on what he/she can do with it. For example they can’t build things on it.
On another subject. You told me and others Cruz worked with Bush 41 to block prop 187. Prop 187 was permanently blocked before Bush took office or even ran. Something doesn’t make sense.
Good point. DoughtyOne has said this before and provided some sort of documentation proving it - or so it appeared.
Rereading what I posed my spelling/grammar had a melt down. Sorry about that.
What really sealed it for me was when Businessman deal maker Trump who also owns Goldman Sachs stock
http://www.freerepublic.com/focua/f-news/3386879/posts
Sided with the GOPES and even advocates expanded use Ethanol because he thinks it will help him carry IOWA . Which also begs the question of Just how heavily invested is he in Ethanol ?
Perhaps she’s just passionate about it. That she cares about the country’s future and is trying to do what she can to change things.
If she posted fake articles that would be a big problem. But she doesn’t.
Why the need to make the personal attack?
Nafta...Ain't part of that the massive highway system they've got spanning the continent N/S and E/W??? I wonder how they'll be acquiring all that property??? And I wounder if Corporate America already knows the hub points and such where they might want to build stuff to make money... Now with KELO, They can use Eminent Domain TOO! Isn't that swell?
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She has made her fair share of personal attacks on others, so don’t play the holier-than-thou card. She has a long history of posting negative articles on Trump - so much so - that this forum has almost become as anti-Trump as the NRO.
Pardon my Confusion, are you saying that a President Cruz, a President Trump or any President for that matter can simply reverse Kelo, Eminent Domain, Zoning Laws and Community Redevelopment Projects on their own?
If they cannot, why is this even being discussed?
Hey I see it as only balance. There’s also a mountain of anti Cruz threads.
If the person posts actual articles from real sources (not a blog) then I try not to trash the messenger no matter which side they’re on.
There are only a few anti-Cruz threads. Mostly we respond to the blinded Cruz supporters who trash Trump day and night. It’s almost non stop from the same suspects.
The President can't single handedly change it.
Say what?
We’ll I could say exactly the same thing on the other side. Look at my posting history if you don’t believe it.
I thought Trump likes, welcomes and generates as much buzz as he can - that he owns the media.
So what’s the beef?
The Keystone XL deal is moot at this point, it’s a dead deal. Obama, the environuts, and the banana/nimby crowd won.
Back that up.
>>>You could say the same thing about abortion couldn’t you?
The President can’t single handedly change it<<<
True, which makes my point. A President, even one as great as Ronaldus Magnus couldn’t overturn any of it on their own.
That being said, the sitting POTUS could sign Legislation supporting Restrictions on Abortion and other Laws. What ever happened to Bush signing the Ban on Partial Birth Abortion? Aren’t those restrictions in place today?
I wonder why Obama didn’t go after restricting Kelo since he ran on being for the Little Guy. He and Valerie are very creative getting around the Law. They could have done something I’m sure.
I blame the Nine Tyrants in Black Robes for most of the issues we face anyway. Trump’s pontificating from his position as a Land Developer won’t change a thing and it isn’t a real world issue that he would be involved in as President.
The battle was lost when Cities discovered they could use Community Redevelopment to do whatever they wanted. That is when Eminent Domain stepped outside of what we always thought it was for, building Roads and Bridges for the Public Good. Public Good has become a gray area hasn’t it?
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