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.
No.
I don’t like eminent domain either but it is clearly a necessary “evil” as spelled out in the constitution and should be used as little as possible.
It is bad enough the way it was before Kelo and doesn’t need to be expanded to individual private use.
The truth is that simple. Yet you call me the hypocrite. Go look in the mirror.
So, in order for one man to be enriched, many have to be impoverished? Is that what you believe?
The blindness is yours.
Kelo EXPANDS it. It’s bad law. Trump fully supports it 100% - just ask him.
Just because something is already abused doesn’t mean you expand and codify the law to make it legal.
Duh.
Well now you can expand that list to casinos, private parking lots, etc...
Tone deaf? I call it unafraid to speak the truth and he’s absolutely spot on.
Exactly. We had a new bypass go near our area. Everyone was HOPING that it would pass through their land so it would be bought at well above market value.
I’m sure this will be said somewhere downthread, but he needs to distinguish between Kelo and eminent domain the way it has always been. It can’t just be for higher taxes.
As a freeper said at the time of Kelo, “It’s socialism funding itself.”
In so many issues, the problem is solved by a careful dissection.
They claim it is not about money, but it always is about the money. If eminent domain paid me $400,000 for my $300,000 house, I will run to the phone and call Mayflower Movers. I have an eye on a much nicer house in town!
Can some guy take over Donald Trumps properties saying they could make more money then he can which means more taxes for the city?
All depends on what the parking lot is for. If it is for an airport or a large hospital, that is much different than a new condo high rise building by a private builder.
Watch your rude epithets. That does not enhance this forum.
I can guess...it is the one leading in every state & national poll? Do I win a prize?
We have much bigger problems in the country than Kelo decisions.
No Wall on the southern border, Illegals and drugs pouring in.
95 million adults unemployed.
$505,000,000,000 yearly trade deficit with China alone!
Vast hard working Middle class wages deteriorating.
Cost of Healthcare becoming unaffordable.
Middle-east in chaos, ISIS chopping heads of Christians.
Iran paid $150 Billion with borrowed money from China.
$21,000,000,000,000 national debt when Obama leaves office.
Good or bad, Kelo is like 0.000000001% of our problem.
Success comes to those who set proper priorities.
Failure comes to those who are hung up on a small skin pimple,
while massive cancer tumors are growing inside.
FReepers, even smart well meaning ones say lots of things.
I’m not convinced that one property should be able to hold up a project that will employ thousands or even hundreds.
I do think it should be used sparingly, but if thousands of jobs are on the line and the redevelopment of a large parcel of land, the taking of one parcel doesn’t seem to be out of the question to me.
The person should be compensated at or above market value. If it’s important enough, that shouldn’t be a problem.
Do I particularly like it? I’m not a big fan of it. The concept of one person or family being inconvenienced for the betterment of thousands isn’t that unreasonable.
I think the tax issue might be a good place to draw the line.
But it bears discussion and debate.
Eminent domain is used all the time.
It’s a fact of life. Those who are really really angry about Kelo, have no problem supporting the pipeline that will cut swath across the nation.
Sorry. Kelo isn’t the end of the world. We all go places that were built in part using eminent domain. Who knew.
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