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April 20, 2009
Spotlight Finds Eminent Domain Crusader
The NY Times
By Lary Bloom
Susette Kelo's little pink house became the national symbol of the fight against eminent domain abuse. Now the straight-talking woman who was the lead plaintiff of the controversial case, which led to the Supreme Court's 5-4 decision to uphold the use of eminent domain for economic development purposes, is on a book tour, where she ends up in Fox's NY studios at the same time as conservative media darling Ann Coulter:
Ms. Kelo and the book’s author, Jeff Benedict, a New London native, arrived at the Fox News green room on schedule. They watched as another guest on the show, Ann Coulter, commanded attention — a makeup artist required a full 40 minutes to prep the glamorous basher of liberals. When it came time to apply the blush to the other woman in the room, Ms. Kelo said, “I haven’t worn makeup in 10 years.”
A longtime nurse, Ms. Kelo also thought — as she confided later — that Ms. Coulter resembled patients she had seen.
“She’s way too thin,” she said. “This poor girl needs to eat.”
Mr. Benedict thought of other contrasts between the two women. There was a great buzz in the building when Ms. Coulter arrived. Ms. Kelo was greeted as any ordinary citizen off the street, without heads turning. Yet Mr. Benedict wrote in his journal that night that 50 years from now the name Susette Kelo will be far better known than Ann Coulter.
Posted by lumi at April 20, 2009 5:42 AM