Wow, just how ignorant is Nancy Pelosi?
Betsy's Page
The Corner highlighted this exchange from her press conference today. She was asked about proposals in response to the Kelo eminent domain decision to pass a federal law to ban eminent domain takings on federal property for private benefit and to ban federal money for state and local takings for private benefit.
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Ms. Pelosi. Again, without focusing on the actual decision, just to say that when you withhold funds from enforcing a decision of the Supreme Court you are, in fact, nullifying a decision of the Supreme Court. This is in violation of the respect for separation of church -- powers in our Constitution, church and state as well. Sometimes the Republicans have a problem with that as well. But forgive my digression.
So the answer to your question is, I would oppose any legislation that says we would withhold funds for the enforcement of any decision of the Supreme Court no matter how opposed I am to that decision. And I'm not saying that I'm opposed to this decision, I'm just saying in general.
Q Could you talk about this decision? What you think of it?
Ms. Pelosi. It is a decision of the Supreme Court. If Congress wants to change it, it will require legislation of a level of a constitutional amendment. So this is almost as if God has spoken. It's an elementary discussion now. They have made the decision.
Q Do you think it is appropriate for municipalities to be able to use eminent domain to take land for economic development?
Ms. Pelosi. The Supreme Court has decided, knowing the particulars of this case, that that was appropriate, and so I would support that.
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Where to start?
The Supreme Court in the majority decision even encouraged states to pass laws that protected private property from such takings. The federal government has the right to pass such laws. It would not be nullifying the decision.
It is not that the Court said that takings for private benefit were a Constitutional right; it was just that the 5th Amendment didn't forbid it. There is a big difference.
Think about another example. There is no federal shield law for journalists. That is why the Supreme Court didn't hear the case of Judith Miller and Matthew Cooper. If the Congress now decided to pass a federal shield law, would Nancy Pelosi then say that that was an inappropriate flouting of a Supreme Court decision? Of course not.
Also, the federal government has all sorts of mandates that they attach to federal grants. Think equal employment provisions and environmental regulations. They can even require states to raise their drinking age for minors to get federal transportation money. So, there is nothing strange about them tacking on yet another requirement for federal grants for federal community development block grants to keep that money from being used in any local project that involves taking private property to benefit a private entity.
Then, there is Nancy Pelosi's touching support for the finality Supreme Court decisions.
Hmmm, did she feel the same for Bush v. Gore?
So, she feels that once the Supreme Court (or God?) has spoken, it is now appropriate for everyone just to salute and accept it. If someone had proposed a federal law banning segregation in federal facilities after Plessy v. Ferguson, would Pelosi have thought that that was a wrong move and a violation of the Supreme Court's (or God's?) endorsement of separate but equal? Or would she just have recommended genuflecting before the collective wisdom of the 1896 Court?
Of course, if she wants to rally Democrats to oppose a federal law protecting the property rights of the individual against the combined power of governments and businesses, let her go ahead. I'm sure that will be an appealing argument to the American people.
She truly is an idiot. Neither Pelosi nor I have law degrees, but that is no excuse for her. She should be a mite bit more familiar with the history of the institution in which she works.
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