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Reagan gave Florida GOP a major lift
Miami Herald ^ | Monday, June 7, 2004 | BRENT KALLESTAD

Posted on 06/07/2004 2:09:10 AM PDT by JohnHuang2

TALLAHASSEE -- Former President Ronald Reagan's influence on Florida's political landscape was long-lasting, sowing the seeds for a Republican revolution resulting in the party's control of state government.

Reagan, who died Saturday at 93, twice carried Florida by landslide margins in the 1980s, despite there being twice as many registered Democratic voters in the state, a Democratic stronghold for most of the 20th century.

In 1980, Reagan routed incumbent Jimmy Carter from neighboring Georgia and four years later carried 49 of 50 states to win reelection, defeating Democratic candidate Walter Mondale nearly 2-to-1 in Florida.

NIGHTMARE FOR DEMS

''I don't think any Republican or Democrat could have beat Ronald Reagan after his first four years,'' said Charles Whitehead, who was the Democratic Party's state chairman during Reagan's presidency. ``It was almost a nightmare for the Democratic Party hierarchy because they had Ronald Reagan out there.''

The momentum continues to this day in Florida, where Republicans have nearly caught up in voter registration and hold all the statewide executive offices, as well as a dominating advantage in the Legislature and Congress. Democrats, however, have both U.S. Senate seats.

(Excerpt) Read more at miami.com ...


TOPICS: Front Page News; News/Current Events
KEYWORDS: ronaldreagan

1 posted on 06/07/2004 2:09:10 AM PDT by JohnHuang2
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To: JohnHuang2

Florida is GOP country. The only Democratic bastions left are around Palm Beach and Miami-Dade.


2 posted on 06/07/2004 2:12:16 AM PDT by goldstategop (In Memory Of A Dearly Beloved Friend Who Lives On In My Heart Forever)
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To: goldstategop
So then why was the presidential election so close in 2000? Could it have been (say it ain't so Al...Al?)....democrat vote fraud in Broward and Dade counties?

I hate to think how many votes for Kerry will be stuffed into the ballot boxes in the back rooms of Broward county. Or have they gone to electronic voting? That could make it a little more difficult.

3 posted on 06/07/2004 2:59:54 AM PDT by defenderSD (Contrary to rumors circulating on the web, I am not Silvio Berlusconi.)
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To: defenderSD

The media lied about Algore winning the State and that discouraged hundreds of thousands in Florida's panhandle from going to the polls. If they had voted, there would have been no recount in the Sunshine State. Lyin' cheaters.


4 posted on 06/07/2004 3:03:14 AM PDT by goldstategop (In Memory Of A Dearly Beloved Friend Who Lives On In My Heart Forever)
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To: goldstategop
"The media lied about Algore winning the State and that discouraged hundreds of thousands in Florida's panhandle from going to the polls. If they had voted, there would have been no recount in the Sunshine State. Lyin' cheaters."

Yep, and don't forget the absentee (Military) ballots that didn't get counted! ! ! ! ! !

5 posted on 06/07/2004 3:30:41 AM PDT by DeaconRed (Ronald Reagan: Super Person, Excellent President, We Will Miss Him. He is Now with GOD)
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To: Voter#537
The media lied about Algore winning the State and that discouraged hundreds of thousands in Florida's panhandle from going to the polls

I had several neighbors who were going to vote on the way home from work but heard the news that Gore had already taken Florida so they just went straight home.

I'm sure that something similar happened in many neighborhoods around here. To top it off, this is the Republican stronghold (Pinheaded) of Florida. The military component from Pensacola Naval Air Station, Eglin AFB, Tyndall AFB, and the Navy Coastal Systems Center, among others, is heavily Republican.

Since we are the portion of the state that is on Central Time, the liberal end of the state votes first and gets counted first and the media tends to forget or ignore us.

6 posted on 06/07/2004 3:48:46 AM PDT by capt. norm (Rap is to music what the Etch-A-Sketch is to art.)
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To: capt. norm

I'll bet they didn't forget. With the state as close as it was there was no way that they made that call except to intentionally try and depress Republican turnout in the rest of the country. Bush won here in NC by 14 points and SeeBS at first said it was "too close to call". Yet they were able to say that Gore won Florida? The coverage of the 2000 election was a blatant attempt by the lefty media to steal an election-never forget it.


7 posted on 06/07/2004 5:51:17 AM PDT by 91B (God made man, Sam Colt made men equal.)
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To: 91B

"So then why was the presidential election so close in 2000? Could it have been (say it ain't so Al...Al?)....democrat vote fraud in Broward and Dade counties?"

The race was close because of what the RATS won't say. Al Gore lost his home state and in that single flash of brilliance, the moderate wing of the Democrat party became no more.

What we now have is what we will be facing until someone comes out and exposes the media and the lefts agenda to the American people.


8 posted on 06/07/2004 6:23:26 AM PDT by EQAndyBuzz (Only difference between the liberals and the Nazis is that the liberals love the Communists.)
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To: 91B

"So then why was the presidential election so close in 2000? Could it have been (say it ain't so Al...Al?)....democrat vote fraud in Broward and Dade counties?"

The race was close because of what the RATS won't say. Al Gore lost his home state and in that single flash of brilliance, the moderate wing of the Democrat party became no more.

What we now have is what we will be facing until someone comes out and exposes the media and the lefts agenda to the American people.


9 posted on 06/07/2004 6:23:34 AM PDT by EQAndyBuzz (Only difference between the liberals and the Nazis is that the liberals love the Communists.)
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