I caught a few minutes of Fox News coverage on the elections last night. They were surprisingly rational about what happened - they acknowledged the "overreach" of Gov. Kasich in Ohio and that Republicans would be wise to heed the will of the electorate as it was being expressed in Ohio and in other states.
One comment that I did take note of was by some d-bag named Stephen Hayes of The Weekly Standard (a conservative rag). He mentioned some ballot initiative in Mississippi that restricted eminent domain. I had not heard of the initiative and have no opinion on it. All I wish to point out was his rationale for the lopsided vote was that Mississippi voters were indicating "that private property rights were important and need to be protected". I think that is reasonable observation. HOWEVER, let us not forget that it is the right-wing of the Republican Party who like to pull out their pocket Constitutions and hold them up like they're traffic cops. I just want to make sure they know that the U.S. Constitution grants the federal government the power of eminent domain as long as there is "just compensation". Moreover, Wikipedia research indicates that power was extended to the states with the passage of the Fourteenth Amendment.
Does that make the Mississippi law unconstitutional? Good question, furriners! How the heck should I know? I'm not a constitutional lawyer. I'm barely even a blogger.
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