THE FOLLOWING IS MY OPINION ONLY -- as far as I know it does not represent the opinion of my Co-Administrator or any of my closest friends -- although as time continues to drag on maybe they will come to appreciate my opine regarding this subject. None of them actually worked in support of President Nixon, I did starting at the age of 16 in 1968.
An "Ocklawahaman" Paul Nosca OPINION:
46 YEARS AGO TODAY -- AUGUST 8, 1974 -- PROBABLY THE 2ND WORST DAY IN HISTORY FOR THE OCKLAWAHA RIVER (and for the native STRIPED BASS of the St. Johns River basin)!
ON THIS DATE IN HISTORY by "Ocklawahaman" Paul Nosca
1974-08-08 THURSDAY (46 YEARS AGO TODAY 2020-08-08 SATURDAY): The resignation of the 37th President of the United States, Richard M. Nixon. Unlike during the terms of President Clinton and President Trump, the Democratic Party controlled BOTH the House and the Senate of the U.S. Congress. Without enough of a political base in the Congress to back him for any crucial votes, President Nixon really had no other viable choice.
Nixon had angered many Democrats for exercising his executive powers to the very edge of constitutional authority (or even beyond) such as in the case of his halting further construction of the Cross Florida Barge Canal (CFBC) project. The CFBC was a classic revival of the "New Deal" President FDR political tactic of keeping the "Solid South" whole for the Democratic Party by authorizing "pork barrel" public works projects -- for voter favor.
The congressional Democrats were absolutely hell-bent on denying President Nixon the historical stature of presiding over the upcoming United States Bicentennial events, seeking to effectively nullify the results of the 1972 election (Nixon won a record electoral votes of 49 of the 50 states -- matched only in history by President Reagan in 1984), and wanted to limit presidential power (if the president was not a Democrat). They also were unhappy about the fact that only "RICHARD NIXON PRESIDENT, UNITED STATES OF AMERICA" appears on all of the metal plaques at the Moon's man-landing sites.
So President Richard M. Nixon -- who successfully used diplomacy with the Democrat-controlled U.S. Congress, the Communists of the Soviet Union (Russia), and the People's Republic of China to produce great accomplishments such as: treaties that averted thermonuclear war; ending the involvement of U.S. ground forces in Vietnam with a peace treaty in S.E. Asia that gained the release of any known living American prisoners of war (including John McCain); ending the military draft; extending voting rights to those between age 18 and 21; and using his powers to create most of the federal government's environment protection agencies and policies that still exist today -- HAD TO GO!
And the Ocklawaha River (and the Florida-native, Atlantic-race striped bass of the St. Johns River basin) lost its best champion for a timely restoration to a free-&-swift flowing again, 56-mile length Ocklawaha-Silver River system. President Nixon was willing to use his presidential executive powers to the very edge (and possibly beyond) of constitutional authority to achieve a necessary result. Once the Ocklawaha River - Rodman Reservoir issue reverted to state control, it became an almost wholly State of Florida-controlled policy question with little to nothing that a U.S. President can do about it.
As Richard Nixon declared on January 19th, 1971:
"A natural treasure is involved in the case of the Barge Canal--the Oklawaha River--a uniquely beautiful, semitropical stream, one of a very few of its kind in the United States, which would be destroyed by construction of the Canal...The step I have taken today will prevent a past mistake from causing permanent damage. But more important, we must assure that in the future we take not only full but also timely account of the environmental impact of such projects-so that instead of merely halting the damage, we prevent it." And the structures built for the Cross Florida Barge Canal project -- including Rodman Dam -- IN THE FIELD, ON THE GROUND, & ON THE WATER HAVE REMAINED FROZEN IN TIME EVER SINCE 1971.
Yes, August 8th, 1974 was probably the 2nd worst day in the history of the Ocklawaha River.
The most infamous day in the history of the Ocklawaha River without any doubt was September 30th, 1968 when -- obeying the power of the Kennedy-Johnson-Humphrey (D) administrations and a Democrat-controlled U.S. Congress -- Rodman Dam was closed across the Ocklawaha River by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers.
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