Political Quotes

“I rise this morning to highlight an issue that I believe we must pay closer attention to in this Chamber and in this Congress. You see, on June 23, Mr. Speaker, we marked the tenth anniversary of an important Supreme Court case. That case was Kelo v. New London. Now, the title of the case really means nothing. But I point to Susette Kelo, who I have here depicted in this picture. She was the plaintiff in that case. And what happened in that case was this, Mr. Speaker, a real tragedy: She was told by her government that they were going to take her home and give it to another private owner for development. You heard me right, Mr. Speaker. She was told that her home was going to be taken by our government because they were picking the winners and losers because they felt they knew best how to utilize her property and give it to another private owner to develop it the way that private owner wanted to do. Well, Mr. Speaker, Susette Kelo stood up. She fought this fight. She was told by her friends, she was told by her real estate agents, she was told by her lawyers: Just roll over. The government always wins, and they are going to win this battle. But she fought it all the way to the Supreme Court. And what happened, however, is that that advice from her friends and from her real estate agent and her lawyers came true. The government won. But that day we all lost, as American citizens. Because here is what happened after that case. She lost her home.…”