Ted Poe: “As a former judge, I want to thank the chairman for leading the fight to protect private property rights. One reason we…”

“As a former judge, I want to thank the chairman for leading the fight to protect private property rights. One reason we started this country was because back in the days of England, the king and the nobles owned all the land, and regular folks like us had to work the land, but we could never own the land. That is one reason this country got started, because of the desire to own private property. John Locke, the great philosopher who was influential in much of the law that came into our Constitution, said that we are all born with the right of life, liberty, and property. And Thomas Jefferson incorporated that concept in the Declaration of Independence when he said that we are given by our creator life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness. And then we put in our Constitution in the fifth amendment that basic right, that we all have life, liberty, and property and it will not be taken without due process of law. That simple phrase that is in that fifth amendment, that private property shall not be taken for public use without due compensation, it is the American dream to own a part of America, own a part of the land. More Americans own land and houses than ever before in our history. Then the Supreme Court came around and misinterpreted this very simple rule in our Constitution, allowing private property to be taken by local governments so they can give it to somebody else all in the name of money. It is all about the money. It ought to be all about what is right.…”