Follow the money

Private property rights are important to conservatives.  For many conservatives, private property rights ought to supersede environmental regulations and zoning laws.  If a property owner cuts down all of his trees or keeps junked cars in the front lawn, that’s nobody’s else’s business.

I naturally assumed that our conservative legislators and local political groups would be aghast that the proposed PennEast Pipeline company could force private property owners to accept a pipeline slicing through their land.  If the property owners resist selling an easement, they can be compelled to do so, since private for-profit pipeline companies will be granted eminent domain rights. 

Imagine my surprise when I heard that the local 9/12 group favored the PennEast Pipeline.  Why would that group put a pipeline company above private property interests?

Then I remembered that last year the “Americans for Prosperity,” a front group for the Koch Brothers, sent representatives to speak at a 9/12 meeting.  I will even speculate that the Koch Brothers may help to fund the 9/12 group, although they don’t open their books to public scrutiny, so there is no way to tell for sure.  The Koch Brothers, of course, are heavily involved in the petroleum industry and are major supporters of Keystone XL.

I am hoping that our local 9/12ers will realize that private property rights are worth defending, and that if a pipeline company can overrule property rights, other corporations won’t be far behind.