Honesty on Activism

George Will writes an excellent commentary about the Kelo decision from the Supreme Court yesterday that upheld the government's right to seize private property for the sole purpose of getting higher tax revenue out of it. He reminds all those conservatives who wail and gnash their teeth over "judicial activists" who invalidate decisions made by elected officials that sometimes, such as in this case, judges should invalidate the actions of elected officials who have improperly trampled on the rights of individuals. In this case, most of the so-called "activist" judges on the Court voted to give deference to democratically-elected local officials rather than to allow interference from the judiciary. Meanwhile, the judges so often praised by conservatives for their non-activism--Scalia, Rhenquist, Thomas--all wanted the federal courts to strike down the decision made by local officials. Personally, I think the Court really blew it on this one. Then again, I've always thought a little judicial activism is a good thing.