Doubtless D.R. Horton and the construction unions had the ear of elected officials, they had lobbyists and could make legal campaign contributions, but I believe if we could have generated more popular opposition we could have prevailed.  I guess you would characterize that belief as naïve and idealistic?  I think the political process worked as intended.  It’s just that we lost.  That’s what happens sometimes in a democracy.  One lesson is that political change sometimes can take a long, long sustained effort.  Look how long it took the right to wreak their havoc on the political scene.  The Kochs and the Mellon Scaifes etc invested in a multi-generational effort to create an intellectual and media base for the hard-right politics that now dominate the conservative movement.