Wednesday, October 10, 2012

VA Democratic Central Committee votes to strike down eminent-domain amendment


The Democratic Party of Virginia’s State Central Committee recently voted to strike down an eminent-domain amendment that passed on a bipartisan vote in both the state Senate and the House of Delegates.[1]

The amendment will be presented to Virginia’s voters on the Nov. 6 ballot and if passed, the amendment would add a Virginia law to the Virginia Constitution on property rights protection, entitling landowners whose property is “seized” to compensation from the government for an amount equivalent to at least as much as the worth of the property.

In defense of its vote, the Democratic central committee argued that the amendment would “add to the complexity and expense of governmental entities seeking to utilize eminent domain for the benefit of taxpayers, even when property is taken for unquestioned public purposes.”[2]

With all due respect to the Democratic central committee, the vote to reject the eminent-domain amendment is an asinine move that makes little political or practical sense.

First, if Virginia’s Democratic voters favor the amendment by a 20-point margin, “the people” have clearly spoken in favor of the eminent-domain measure. Thus, the state Democratic Party should support the measure too.

Secondly, I have to agree with my conservative friends: the amendment simply makes sense. If private property is allowed to be seized by the government, especially for “unquestioned public purposes,” the very least the government can do is grant compensation equivalent to the value of the property. If there is extra “complexity” involved, it is the price that has to be paid to minimally uphold the principles of our nation (i.e. no unreasonable seizure of private property[3]).

At the very least, the Democratic Party of Virginia’s State Central Committee should recast a symbolic “yes” vote to approve the amendment. Otherwise, the committee stands in danger of being an irrelevant institution that does not appear to represent the desire of its Democratic Party constituents.


[1] http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2012/oct/7/virginia-democratic-panel-bucks-voters-on-amendmen/
[2] http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2012/oct/7/virginia-democratic-panel-bucks-voters-on-amendmen/
[3] http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fourth_Amendment_to_the_United_States_Constitution

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