[at-l] Maine land buyout

[mfuller@somtel.com (Malcolm Fuller)]

> At least, this makes more sense to me than speculation
> that a Green candidate for governor, who managed 5 percent
> of the vote, somehow scared them away.

I wasn't referring to the Greens running DipSchumer for governor,
but rather the two back-to-back statewide referenda to ban 
clearcutting. The prospect of the ban's success at the polls
was sufficiently high (practically a foregone conclusion) to
frighten the timber industry -- and the State itself -- into
their compromise "backroom deal" with Anus, which was then
added to the ballot in an attempt to split the vote which
ultimately succeeded.

Surely you recall the early polls predicting that the total
ban would overwhelmingly pass in a straight up-or-down vote.

Furthermore, I have already acknowledged that the industry
in Maine was in decline anyway. Anyone interested in learning
some of the reasons why, and how the current state of affairs
came about, is invited to check out the following link:

http://www.umaine.edu/mafes/elec_pubs/mp730.pdf

-MF