A Heartfelt Liberal Response
I finally found a sincere liberal response to yesterday's Supreme Court ruling on eminent domain. Of course, I had to wade into the putrid sewage that is the Democratic Underground in order to find it:
"I've seen a lot of things go wrong in this country in my life, but for some idealistic reason I though our last best hope was the Supreme Court. I even thought I knew who the "good guys" and the "bad guys" were. But today, my world turned upside down. This supreme court ruling on private property leaves me wondering what the hell America stand for anymore.I don't expect a lot of responses to this post. But if you do bother to read it, please read this and think about what it means:
The New London neighborhood that will be swept away includes Victorian-era houses and small businesses that in some instances have been owned by several generations of families. Among the New London residents in the case is a couple in their 80s who have lived in the same home for more than 50 years.
Eighty years old. Fifty years of paying property taxes, making a home, and being in a community. Gone. I'm crying now, because America is dead to me today.
And this ruling was the opinion of Stevens, Kennedy, Souter, Ginsburg, and Breyer? Excuse me? Will someone please tell me where to direct my rage?"
That last line confirms my theory of why the left-side of the blogisphere has pretty much ignored the story.
And by the way, I agree with SlipperySlope. We should all be crying. This ruling weakens one of the fundamental principles that this country was founded upon.
Comments
I can't believe anyone likes this decision, liberal or conservative. Even the New York Times' editorial this morning was about the most half-assed thing I'd ever seen in print.
And yes, the DU crowd has been spitting nails over this. When will start asking why they've been so poorly served by their most prominent voices in the blogosphere and the punditocracy?
Posted by: Barry N. Johnson | June 24, 2005 02:42 PM
Oh look! The latest post on "Daily Kos" is about whether the new, muted-orange color scheme looks better.
(For my money, the answer's yes. I think the new redesign is easier to read.)
Posted by: Barry N. Johnson | June 24, 2005 02:47 PM
No, plenty of us over here hated that one, too, and knew it for what it was. Not only is congress for sale any more, but so is the judicial branch.
Mind you, some of us noticed that particular fact about five years ago...Nice to see that all you "conservatives" are actually complaining about something relevant, though. Most of the other blogs that you are linked to are talking about the importance of not burning a piece of cloth symbolic of the freedom of our nation, as opposed to being outraged at the loss of actual freedom here in this, the greatest society what was ever wrought by Gawd on Oith.
Posted by: rich bachelor | June 27, 2005 03:05 AM
As I sit here, filled with distrust of the SCOTUS and contempt for much of Congress, I am aware that only Congress can correct this threat to property rights by defining eminent domain in a law. That's the only thing they can do. We don't need a Constitutional amendment, but we need a little law around here. Why do I think that this Congress, so much of it so neatly bought and paid for, won't protect us? Why do I suspect that Wal-mart likes this decision?
Posted by: G. D. Frogsdong | June 28, 2005 07:58 AM
I think you're right. I believe I did here that Sen. Cornyn was introducing a bill to prohibit eminent domain takings for private purposes. I'll see what I can find.
Posted by: Barry N. Johnson | June 28, 2005 09:54 AM
All is not lost. We still live in a democracy. Our local governments have been given the power to take our property from us, so what can we, as citizens, do about it?
We can get active on the local level. We can put heat on the politicians who decide whether or not to bulldoze people's homes--if you get your communities organized, it can become extremely disadvantageous politically to take advantage of the Kelo ruling.
The Supreme Court may be filled with self-styled autocrats, but the ones who can actually use the power that's expanded by the justices' decisions are vulnerable to the pressures of being democratically appointed. As I said, all is not lost--it's high time we Americans got off our asses on the local level anyway.
Posted by: Adam | June 29, 2005 02:54 PM
I don't have a blog, but I'm disgusted by this ruling. And I'm pretty far left. This is just disgusting.
Posted by: anonymous | June 30, 2005 04:13 PM