More Bully, Please

July 06, 2006 | By PACIFIC LEGAL FOUNDATION

The Pittsburgh Tribune-Review has an editorial criticizing President Bush's meaningless executive order regarding eminent domain.

A bipartisan House bill authorizing mandatory, draconian penalties for any government entity that took private property for private use passed overwhelmingly 376-38 in November. However, a slightly less intimidating Senate bill has been languishing in the Judiciary Committee for almost a year.

If Mr. Bush truly wants to make a statement about private property rights, he must demand committee chairman Arlen Specter, R-Pa.—the candidate he shamelessly backed in the 2004 Republican primary—allow a vote on the bill.

A bully pulpit is useless if one is afraid to bully.