[Friedrich Hayek]

summer, God love you, but you're crazy. You're missing the forest because you're obsessing on this one tree. You've taken one issue that is important to you, and made the assumption that it was important to everyone else. It wasn't.

And frankly, it doesn't matter what you wrote in January of 2002, because the election was held in Nov., 2000. Hindsight is always 20/20.

Look at the news sources you are quoting: the Washington Post, and NPR. Doesn't that tell you something?

These sources want you to believe that Gore lost Florida because he lost the environmental vote; that he wasn't liberal enough. But you of all people should know that Gore lost because he was too liberal. On question after question, Soc. Sec., taxes, the environment, the military, Elian, Bush was closer to the mainstream than Al Gore was.

Don't buy into the liberal spin.

BTW, I just went to your link, and the thread generated absolutely no insight into how the Everglades airport issue might, or might not, have affected Florida voting in Nov., 2000. (It too was written after the election, with the benefit of hindsight.)

[summer]

made the assumption that it was important to everyone else. It wasn't.

Frederich, On the above point, you and I actually agree.

However, whatever would happen to the Homestead Airforce Base was VERY IMPORTANT to the people in FLORIDA, especially those who lived nearby that land -- and, to those who live near or care about the Everglades.

The whole country was not losing sleep over it. But, here in FL, during many protracted and angry legal battles, plenty of FL voters DID lose sleep over it.
It was in a sense a LOCAL issue -- but, it involved FEDERAL land.

So, true, not everyone cared -- however, for you to brush it off, as Al Gore did, to his detriment, would make you appear just as foolish as him. As it turned out, he lost the White House over this issue. :)!

[summer]

Look at the news sources you are quoting: the Washington Post, and NPR. Doesn't that tell you something?

Yes, it tells me you did not read very carefully.

I also mentioned Dick Morris - a conservative political strtategist. And, if you read the chapter in his new book about this, like I did, you will see that even he sat up and took note of this local issue in FL. I will post a link for you about it. :)

[summer]

BTW, I just went to your link, and the thread generated absolutely no insight into how the Everglades airport issue might, or might not, have affected Florida voting in Nov., 2000. (It too was written after the election, with the benefit of hindsight.)

If you read the entire article in my post #49 and concluded the above, then, thank goodness you do not work as a political strategisty - you'd be broke in no time! :)!

[summer]

My post #62 was meant for you too. And, you should also read my Jan 9th editorial.

BTW, what is your gripe about looking back and reflecting on what unfolded? "Hindsight" is the one and only way anyone can consider, analyze and understand past events -- you have to look back.

Also, I did not buy any "liberal" spin on this matter, as the liberal spin, for a long time, was: Jeb Bush "stole" this election. Most FL voters know he didn't -- especially the 96,000 voters who voted for Nader... and, may vote for Jeb this November. :)!

[summer]

This part of the Washington Post article rings especially true, and I am wondering if they talked to the writer of the Miami New Times article linked in my post #49 -- because that article describes the fall out of trust that happened between Gore and the FL environmentalists, people who should have been his supporters. Yet, the breach was so bad prior to the election in Nov 2000, that Gore could not even hold at a rally because of potential protests from these very environmental groups. Here's an excerpt from the WP article link about that meeting between Gore and environmentalists:

...But when they [Gore's people] asked [the FL environmentalists] whether Gore would face protesters if he held a rally in the Everglades, the environmentalists coolly replied that they could not control their members.

"Gore spilled blood for these people for eight years," Berger said. "Where was the trust?"

Karsten Rist, a Tropical Audubon Society activist, said he was stunned by the Gore team's trust-us approach.

"I remember Katie saying Gore would really feel hurt if his own people didn't trust him," he recalled. "It was a strangely sentimental and unrealistic statement."

So Gore never made that trip to the Everglades. But three days before the election, Nader was in Miami bellowing about the airport. "Al Gore is waffling as usual," he shouted. Nader also sent a letter to environmentalists around the state, saying Gore had cut deals to allow "major development around this national treasure." Nader got more than 96,000 votes in Florida.

Penelas [mayor of Miami], meanwhile, did not make a single appearance for Gore in the fall of 2000. He was virtually invisible during the post-election controversy, offering no objections when Miami-Dade election officials shut down the manual recount that Gore had requested....

The request by Gore's people for "trust" from the FL environmentalists and others concerned about this matter is incredible, in light of the fact the local and state DEMS were constantly on the WRONG side of this issue. So -- "trust"? What's to "trust" when the Dems (except Clinton) were never on the side of The People in this local/federal fight???