# Florida. What happened? **URL:** \ **Category:** Great Debates\ **Created:** [November 3, 2004, 3:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/florida-what-happened/272759 "2004-11-03T15:13:23Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 9\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![Mal\_Adroit](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/df788c/32.png) [@Mal\_Adroit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mal_Adroit)\ **Post date:** [November 4, 2004, 9:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/florida-what-happened/272759/41 "2004-11-04T21:27:40Z")
> [@MEBuckner](#): > > **Moderator’s Note:** **Moody Bastard** , I edited down the text you quoted . . . although you didn’t quite quote the whole article in either post, you were definitely on the high side. May John Ashcroft sing at my wedding if it happens again. ---
**Author:** ![Loach](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/loach/32/350_2.png) [@Loach](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Loach)\ **Post date:** [November 4, 2004, 9:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/florida-what-happened/272759/42 "2004-11-04T21:47:48Z")
Looks like he’s going to be available. ---
**Author:** ![Loach](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/loach/32/350_2.png) [@Loach](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Loach)\ **Post date:** [November 4, 2004, 10:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/florida-what-happened/272759/43 "2004-11-04T22:07:23Z")
Moody I think that article was debunked in another thread. The author either got his poling data [wrong](http://www.cnn.com/ELECTION/2004/pages/results/states/OH/P/00/epolls.0.html) or he used a very early poll. Or he is lying. You decide. Check the link for CNNs exit poll. ---
**Author:** ![sturmhauke](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/e47c2d/32.png) [@sturmhauke](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/sturmhauke)\ **Post date:** [November 4, 2004, 10:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/florida-what-happened/272759/44 "2004-11-04T22:40:16Z")
This is fourth-hand commentary so it’s probably not worth much, but here goes: It seems that many Cuban Americans who were old enough to remember the Bay of Pigs debacle still carry a grudge against JFK’s party, and refuse to vote for any Democratic candidate ever. Younger Cuban Americans are more likely to to favor Democrats when it comes to social issues. ---
**Author:** ![Huerta88](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/82dd89/32.png) [@Huerta88](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Huerta88)\ **Post date:** [November 4, 2004, 11:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/florida-what-happened/272759/45 "2004-11-04T23:04:14Z")
> [@sturmhauke](#): > > This is fourth-hand commentary so it’s probably not worth much, but here goes: > > It seems that many Cuban Americans who were old enough to remember the Bay of Pigs debacle still carry a grudge against JFK’s party, and refuse to vote for any Democratic candidate ever. Younger Cuban Americans are more likely to to favor Democrats when it comes to social issues. Younger Cubans vote a lot like other young Latins, which is to say they are at least half Dem. voters, probably more. I don’t know that the first-generation “exile” preference for Republicans is based specifically on a grudge against Dems, so much as the fanatical anti-communism they’ve continued to espouse, and the fact that through the '70s-'90s the Republicans were clearly identified as the militantly anti-communist party, the Dems viewed as less uncompromising on negotiating with the Reds, i.e. Fidel. The GOP has continued to foster the “exile” dream that through U.S. sanctions, etc. Fidel will be thrown out and they can go reclaim their estancias (and slaves, for all I know). If you want to talk about “corruption” in Fla., not in the sense of some stupid conspiracy theories about the KKK scaring black voters away or Diebold systematically discarding votes, but in the sense of our corrupt pork-barrel system, do give some thought to the massive sums doled out by FEMA after the hurricanes. It’d be dubious whether the U.S. government is in the business of rebuilding the damaged homes of middle class people, or any people, who choose to live in a hurricane zone (as I once did). But putting that aside, check out the articles about the hundreds of people in Dade County who received thousands of dollars in FEMA grants, despite the fact that none of the three storms caused **any** significant property damage that far south down the peninsula. Similar stories about people getting post-9/11 government grants to buy new air conditioners in N.Y.C. suggest that someone needs to look into whether FEMA (established mainly to ensure continuity of government in the event of a nuclear attack) has turned into a backdoor entitlement/welfare program for buying voter influence. This trend is a very bipartisan one; Joe Allbaugh was the first to catch my attention with this trend, as he was Lord Bountiful in any state that suffered an inch of rain under Clinton. ---
**Author:** ![Stoid](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/stoid/32/272_2.png) [@Stoid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Stoid)\ **Post date:** [November 4, 2004, 11:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/florida-what-happened/272759/46 "2004-11-04T23:04:50Z")
> [@Bromley](#): > > Was there a single issue (not necessarily above) that could have swayed Florida the other way? Absolutely. Dump the Diebold machines. ---
**Author:** ![Bricker](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/977dab/32.png) [@Bricker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bricker)\ **Post date:** [November 4, 2004, 11:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/florida-what-happened/272759/47 "2004-11-04T23:07:58Z")
> [@Stoid](#): > > Absolutely. > > Dump the Diebold machines. And your explanation for the losses in counties where Diebold machines weren’t used? Your explanation for the fact that vote distributions don’t seem to change between Diebold and non-Diebold sites? Hey, **Stoid** : BWAHAHAHAHA!!! This is the best you got? Bush won because of the Diebold machines? Good, good. Keep frantically reading left-wing bloggers and Democratic Underground until they tell you what else to think. For now, stick with the evil Diebold machines. That’s a great strategy. Democrats: **listen to Stiod**. ---
**Author:** ![RikWriter](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/49beb7/32.png) [@RikWriter](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RikWriter)\ **Post date:** [November 5, 2004, 12:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/florida-what-happened/272759/48 "2004-11-05T00:39:25Z")
> [@Stoid](#): > > Absolutely. > > Dump the Diebold machines. Your tinfoil is way too tight. ---
**Author:** ![bup](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/6bbea6/32.png) [@bup](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bup)\ **Post date:** [November 5, 2004, 4:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/florida-what-happened/272759/49 "2004-11-05T16:08:22Z")
The only thing I can think of that made the early returns favor Kerry, and later returns went to Bush, is that Kerry voters have jobs. If many Bush voters are retired, they could go any time of day they please. Maybe they’re more easily scared by terrorism. And robots out to steal their medicine, which they use for fuel. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/florida-what-happened/272759.md?page=2)