I don't disagree about the power of the Cuban voting bloc in Florida. Had they voted more in line with, say, other Hispanic voters we may well have avoided a 20 year water in Iraq and Afghanistan [1].
> Ethnic voting blocs are truly powerful.
I'd generalize this further. Any substantial voting bloc is powerful, ethnic or otherwise. The NRA and, anti-choice lobbies and the pro-Israel lobby, for example. There is generational voting patterns (as you mention) but this seems to a subset of single-issue voters.
There's a reason we can precisely draw Congressional maps to gerrymander the electorate: voting patterns are highly predictable.
But a voting bloc can be a double edged sword. Cubans in Florida only hold power because they're the difference between the state being red and blue. It's why certain states are completely ignored in the election. One party or the other will comfortably win. Nothing will change that.
Disproportionate power only comes when you're the balance of power.
> Ethnic voting blocs are truly powerful.
I'd generalize this further. Any substantial voting bloc is powerful, ethnic or otherwise. The NRA and, anti-choice lobbies and the pro-Israel lobby, for example. There is generational voting patterns (as you mention) but this seems to a subset of single-issue voters.
There's a reason we can precisely draw Congressional maps to gerrymander the electorate: voting patterns are highly predictable.
But a voting bloc can be a double edged sword. Cubans in Florida only hold power because they're the difference between the state being red and blue. It's why certain states are completely ignored in the election. One party or the other will comfortably win. Nothing will change that.
Disproportionate power only comes when you're the balance of power.
[1]: https://www.theguardian.com/world/2001/oct/14/afghanistan.te...