http://www.lewrockwell.com/paul/paul259.html
Lessons From the Kelo
Decisionby Rep. Ron Paul, MD
One week after the Kelo
decision by the Supreme Court, Americans are still reeling from the shock of
having our nation�s highest tribunal endorse using government power to condemn
private homes to benefit a property developer. Even as we celebrate our
independence from England this July 4th, we find ourselves increasingly enslaved
by petty bureaucrats at every level of government. The anger engendered by the
Kelo case certainly resonates on this holiday based on rebellion against
government.
The City of New London, Connecticut essentially acted as a
strongman by seizing private property from one group of people for the benefit
of a more powerful private interest. For its services, the city will be paid a
tribute in the form of greater taxes from the new development. In any other
context, what�s happening in Connecticut properly would be described as
criminal. However, the individuals losing their homes understand that stealing
is stealing, even if the people responsible are government officials. The silver
lining in the Kelo case may be that the veneer of government benevolence is
being challenged.
Kelo has several important lessons for all of us. We
are witnessing the destruction of any last remnants of the separation of
powers doctrine, a doctrine our founders considered critical to freedom. The
notion that the judicial branch of government serves as a watchdog to curb
legislative and executive abuses has been entirely exposed as an illusion.
Judges not only fail to defend our freedoms, they actively infringe upon them by
acting as de facto legislators. Thus Kelo serves as a stark reminder that we
cannot rely on judges to protect our freedoms.
It is folly to believe we
will regain lost freedoms if only the right individuals are appointed to the
Supreme Court. Republican presidents, including conservative icon Ronald
Reagan, have appointed some of our very worst Supreme Court Justices. In today�s
political context, it frankly matters very little whom President Bush appoints
to replace Justice O�Connor. Even the most promising jurist can change radically
over the course of a lifetime appointment. We are supposed to be a nation of
laws, not men, and the fixation on individuals as saviors of our freedoms is
misplaced. America will regain lost freedoms only when her citizens wake up and
reclaim a national sense of self-reliance, individualism, and limited
government. A handful of judges cannot save a nation from itself.
The
Kelo case also demonstrates that local government can be as tyrannical as
centralized government. Decentralized power is always preferable, of course,
since it�s easier to fight city hall than Congress. But government power is ever
and always dangerous, and must be zealously guarded against. Most people in New
London, Connecticut, like most people in America, would rather not involve
themselves in politics. The reality is that politics involves itself with us
whether we like it or not. We can bury our heads in the sand and hope that
things don�t get too bad, or we can fight back when government treats us as its
servant rather than its master.
If anything, the Supreme Court should
have refused to hear the Kelo case on the grounds that the 5th amendment does
not apply to states. If constitutional purists hope to maintain credibility,
we must reject the phony incorporation doctrine in all cases � not only when it
serves our interests. The issue in the Kelo case is the legality of the eminent
domain action under Connecticut law, not federal law. Congress can and should
act to prevent the federal government from seizing private property, but the
fight against local eminent domain actions must take place at the local level.
The people of New London, Connecticut could start by removing from office the
local officials who created the problem in the first place.
July 5,
2005
Rep. Ron Paul