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Sleeping with the enemy

The eminent domain question still looms large over Ratner's Atlantic Yards development for the Nets' arena. Curiously, while the strongest opposition to Kelo, the Supreme Court's recent pro-eminent domain decision comes from the right, opposition in Brooklyn is largely from the left.

Immediately after the decision, the otherwise wacky Senator John Cornyn (R - TX) proposed legislation that would prevent local governments from receiving any federal money if they use eminent domain to seize property for use in a private development. While I was slow to notice it, his bill passed the House last month. The House vote follows legislation in Alabama and Texas that forbid the use of eminent domain for private development. There are similar laws in the pipeline all over the country.

The separate motivations of the opposition have led to strange bedfellows in the opposition to Kelo. Conservative opposition stems from a combination of private property fetish and preference for limited governemnt. Liberals aren't as concerned with a proactive government or progressive redistribution, but they have a strong distrust of government collusion with private corporations. In fact, those who favor Kelo-type solutions tend to come from the left. When eminent domain is used to seize land from a corporation that is letting it sit fallow (or worse, into objective disrepair) for, say, public housing, the left is much less likely to complain.

I hate to say it, but I think the folks opposing Kelo are going to have to cast their lot with the conservatives.