FreedomWorks Joins Property Rights Battle
The below letter was submitted to the White House today, along with a number of news clips on the Kelo case
COALITION AGAINST EMINENT DOMAIN ABUSE
October 29, 2004
President George W. Bush
The White House
1600 Pennsylvania Avenue NW
Washington, DC 20500
Dear President Bush,
The below letter was submitted to the White House today, along with a number of news clips on the Kelo case
COALITION AGAINST EMINENT DOMAIN ABUSE
October 29, 2004
President George W. Bush
The White House
1600 Pennsylvania Avenue NW
Washington, DC 20500
Dear President Bush,
The U.S. Supreme Court will decide this term whether state and local governments can use eminent domain to take non-blighted homes in the name of economic development. The issue before the Court deals only with state and local authority; there is no reason the federal government needs to take a position in this case. We urge the Administration NOT to file a brief in Kelo v. New London.
The outcome of this case will affect the property rights of tens of thousands of homeowners and small businesses nationwide because they are the frequent targets of eminent domain. Given the Bush Administration’s recent Ownership Society campaign and support of middle-income housing expansion, it is imperative that the Administration not undermine private property rights in the Kelo case. Property rights and home ownership, as recognized in the Ownership Society principles, are cornerstones of America’s communities and economy. Filing a brief against property owners in this case would be both disastrous to property rights and a serious affront to the promise of “expanding property ownership” the Administration champions.
The Constitution protects private property and states that property may only be taken for public use. Eminent domain for economic development does not constitute a public use. We urge the Administration affirm its support of property rights and refrain from filing a brief in Kelo.
Sincerely,
Matt Kibbe, President, FreedomWorks
Grover Norquist, President, Americans for Tax Reform
Paul Weyrich, National Chairman, Coalitions for America
David Keene, Chairman, American Conservative Union
Fred L. Smith Jr., President, Competitive Enterprise Institute Pat
Callahan, Executive Director, American Association of Small Property
Owners Stephen Lilienthal, Free Congress Foundation
Robert D. Thompson, Director, Sixty Votes Coalition (PAC)
George Landrith, President, Frontiers of Freedom
Connie Mackey, VP of Government Affairs, Family Research Council
John Berthoud, President, National Taxpayers Union
Alvin Williams, President/CEO, Black America’s PAC
Tony Palazzolo, Individual
Nancy Mitchell Pfotenhauer, President, Americans for Prosperity
Roger Pilon, Constitutional Scholar
Robert Poole, Jr., Founder, Reason Foundation
David Nott, President, Reason Foundation
Steve Buckstein, Founding President, Cascade Policy Institute
William Westmiller, Chairman, Republican Liberty Caucus
Kay Daly, President, Coalition for a Fair Judiciary
Tom DeWeese, President, American Policy Center
Manny Klausner, General Counsel, Individual Rights Foundation
Leri M. Thomas, Ph.D., Virginians for Property Rights
Chuck Muth, President, Citizen Outreach
Dr. John Eastman, Director, Claremont Institute Center for Constitutional
Jurisprudence
Andrew Grainger, President, New England Legal Foundation
Carol LaGrasse, President, Property Rights Foundation of America
Joseph Grieboski, President, Institute on Religion and Public Policy
Jeffrey Mazzella, Executive Director, Center for Individual Freedom
Tom Schatz, President, Citizens Against Government Waste
Amy Ridenour, President, The National Center for Public Policy Research
John Taylor, President, Virginia Institute for Public Policy
Michael Ostrolenk, Association of American Physicians and Surgeons
Maryland Taxpayers Association
Jane Orient, MD, Exec. Director, Assoc. of American Physicians and
Surgeons
Henry Lamb, Property Rights Congress of America
Kevin L. Kearns, President, U.S. Business and Industry Council
Emmett McLoughlin, President/CEO, Emmett McLoughlin Realty, Inc.
Sovereignty International, Inc.
Mike Stollenwerk, Fairfax County Privacy Council
Environmental Conservation Organization
Siobhan Reynolds, President, Pain Relief Network
Karen Effrem MD, EdWatch
Al Aitken, Chairman, VOTORS
