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July 23, 2010
Carl Paladino: I'd Use Eminent Domain To Block Ground Zero Mosque
NY Daily News
by Celeste Katz
New York Republican gubernatorial candidate Carl Paladino has dreamed up a novel new use for eminent domain: religious bigotry!
If elected governor, WNY's Carl Paladino vows in a new radio ad that he'd use the eminent domain laws to stop the construction of a controversial Islamic center/mosque near Ground Zero.
(I'm not sure he could actually do that, by the way, but I'm looking into it.)
It's New York State. You can use eminent domain for anything, as long as you're rich and powerful enough to get away with it. Just ask Bruce Ratner.
Paladino says sure he can, and instead of a mosque, the site should be a war memorial.
...It's notable from a political standpoint that Paladino is going after Cuomo here, leaving out that other Republican guy who wants to be governor, Rick Lazio.
Cuomo and Lazio have tangled on the topic, with Lazio doing most of the tangling.
Lazio spokesman Barney Keller replied to my inquiry about Paladino: “Since Rick Lazio called on Andrew Cuomo to do his job several weeks ago and look into the funding stream of the Cordoba Mosque voices of opposition have emerged from coast to coast.”
Also weighing in on this one: Libertarian gubernatorial hopeful Warren Redlich, who's dumping on the "knee-jerk" Paladino idea as a "plan to waste money and abuse property rights through eminent domain."
NoLandGrab: We had to look it up, too — "WNY" stands for "Western New York," not "Wing Nut Yokel."
Posted by eric at July 23, 2010 11:20 AM