Burnt Orange Report

why do liberals only think imminent domain is a problem when it affects them?

they want to shut down Players??? Oh, that's right, Players is a popular spot for students, and the University isn't exactly student-friendly.

Probably because eminent domain is rarely used against conservative business interests... like, say, the University of Texas.

I mean, geez, there's VACANT property right across the street from the West Mall. Can't they build there?

I don't think it's an issue of imminent domain affecting liberals, which makes little sense. In this case, it's affecting UT students and alumni who often patron the play during Texas Football weekends as well as after meetings and such. It's a community of students issue, not one affecting liberals.

But as a larger concept, imminent domain in many cases is used to the advantage of city planners working in concert with developers at the expense of old neighborhoods and poor or minority communities. This isn't always the case, and there are many cases of true blight that needs to be condemned, but cities have gotten very liberal in their use of this power. There is actually a case in front of the Supreme Court right now, the actual name escapes me, that is tied to the very issue of imminent domain and the extent to which individual citizens truely have any property rights at all that are inalienable.

Well, for the record mr nl+nc, I've been very cranky about eminent domain. Search the archives.

That said, the Court, I believe, has yet to pass down a ruling in the Kelo case.

I never thought the proper use of emminent domain included condemning the property where an active business was established and giving the property to another party to establish another business.
lk

Karl-Thomas: emminent domain seems like a nice concept, and I'd be on board if it could only be used responsibly, but give the government that kind of power, and they'll drive a truck through it.

If we lived in a true democracy emminent domain would be a way of life (there are more republicans nowadays; there's goes BOR). But we don't. People need to understand we live in a republic; that shouldn't fly here.

Am I the only one a little confused here now?

Karl-T: take a government class... heh :)

A true democracy means rule by the majority. If 51% of the people in this country want you dead, you die. Period. We live in a republic, which means we have rights outside the control of the government or the majority. Right to property is one of them. Players is having their right to property violated.

I've taken plenty of government classes thank you. Your comment was confusing because you jump form your intial comment, complaining about liberals and eminent domain, and then chat about being against it, and then refernce democracy giving an example that if there are somehow more Republicans, then BOR wouldn't exist in a true democracy.

Unless Republicans passed a law disallowing Democrats to blog, that comment makes little sense. That's where you were confusing.

Well, sorry then. It was poorly stated. Let me put it another way:

Assume that a majority of people in this country are Republican and don't like BOR. Now, if we lived in a true democracy (ie, majority rule), and they all thought BOR should go bye bye it would. You'd have no recourse.

But we have freedom of speech and constitutionally given property rights to prevent "tyranny of the majority" from causing unfair situations like that.

Now how does eminent domain fit in? Our country was founded as a republic, and eminent domain violates the concept of a republic and the spirit of the constitution. That was my point.

Stated that way, it is much more clear. And believe me, I had an Urban Politics Course this past semester in which eminent domain was a big piece of it. I look forward to the Kelo v. New London case (here) when it is finally decided. The way that I've read it, if ruled one way, it could challenge the very concept of individual property rights. And that's the perfect example then of eminent domain being taken too far.