Support for hardline policies has been steadily declining (75% support the sale of medical goods, 63% want diplomatic relations), and what support remains is generally from older/first wave Cuban Americans.
Asked to rank their voting priorities, a candidate's position on Cuba ranked DEAD LAST at 8.9% compared to healthcare (29.2%) and the economy (46.7%).
I think the posturing is just pandering to the loudest voices in the exile community...who probably won't vote Democratic anyway.
Reminds me of all the times on twitter that some right winger ex-pat of some "socialist" country comes out with a viral "______ took my family's farm and business" and it takes about 5 minutes of research to find out that by "farm" they literally mean plantation with slaves. Hilarious every time. It's not surprising that many of those who were fleeing such countries become pro-business, bootstrap Republicans here. (That's not to say that everyone who fled did so for those reasons or that there wasn't oppression etc.)
If Democrats need a Latinx ethnic group to focus on in Florida, try the huge number of Puerto Ricans coming from the island (and elsewhere). At this point there might even be more Puerto Ricans in Florida than Cubans. Plus maybe if the Dems pander to us instead of the Cubans they'll start supporting things that actually help people, instead of just doing McCarthyism.
Never understood the fetishising of Cuban politics (and a really specific vein of them) in a state that has so many other Latinx communities. Seems weird to place all that emphasis on people who reliably vote Republican!
I think you nailed it: there’s a very vocal element of the Democratic Party that *likes* McCarthyism, especially now that you’ve got actual socialists winning congressional and state legislative races. At best it’s because they think going left is bad for the party’s electoral prospects, at worst it’s because they themselves are anti-communists and still want to fight the Cold War. Either way, fuck ‘em!
Like, the old Cubans that really care about Castro are ardent Republicans. The younger ones are pretty on board with normalizing relations and probably don't care that a VP candidate said a couple nice things about literacy or healthcare. I don't see a demographic being lost here, besides there being a state party that has that sliver of people who really care.
It's like how 50% of Republicans want Medicare for All but 0% of GOP members of Congress support it. The political class is not the people at large, they often don't relate to each other at all.
There are plenty of celebrities that the Democratic Party likes for fundraising or publicity reasons that are Scientologists or Scientology-adjacent, so I really don't think the party apparatus minded. Saying vaguely nice things about Castro, like how people didn't die of preventable diseases or how they could read unlike under Batista, was way more disqualifying.
Her praising Scientology is a reason *I* don’t like her, but the Democratic Party insiders likely view that as just doing what you have to do to get elected when the Church of Scientology is near-literally in your district’s backyard. Not condemning Castro as a communist demon, on the other hand...
Any comment on Puerto Rican organizers within the Democratic Party alleging electoral malfeasance and suppression, or Brenda Snipes clearly operating as a republican sleeper agent for decades?
I always thought Snipes was just hilariously incompetent but I just found out through Wikipedia she was appointed by Jeb. Huh!
I think the Democratic Party as a whole is shooting itself in the foot of it continues to ignore Puerto Rican voters. And the stuff I’m seeing about the Biden campaign’s Latino voter outreach is giving me severe deja vu from 2016.
The people of San Juan literally rolled a guillotine up to the governor's house, of course the Dem leadership wants to suppress that. Can't have actual working class people wanting power now
Further context from the 2018 FIU Cuba Poll:
Cuban Americans overwhelmingly vote Republican (54% registered Republicans, 26% independent, 19% Democrat)
Support for hardline policies has been steadily declining (75% support the sale of medical goods, 63% want diplomatic relations), and what support remains is generally from older/first wave Cuban Americans.
Asked to rank their voting priorities, a candidate's position on Cuba ranked DEAD LAST at 8.9% compared to healthcare (29.2%) and the economy (46.7%).
I think the posturing is just pandering to the loudest voices in the exile community...who probably won't vote Democratic anyway.
Reminds me of all the times on twitter that some right winger ex-pat of some "socialist" country comes out with a viral "______ took my family's farm and business" and it takes about 5 minutes of research to find out that by "farm" they literally mean plantation with slaves. Hilarious every time. It's not surprising that many of those who were fleeing such countries become pro-business, bootstrap Republicans here. (That's not to say that everyone who fled did so for those reasons or that there wasn't oppression etc.)
If Democrats need a Latinx ethnic group to focus on in Florida, try the huge number of Puerto Ricans coming from the island (and elsewhere). At this point there might even be more Puerto Ricans in Florida than Cubans. Plus maybe if the Dems pander to us instead of the Cubans they'll start supporting things that actually help people, instead of just doing McCarthyism.
Never understood the fetishising of Cuban politics (and a really specific vein of them) in a state that has so many other Latinx communities. Seems weird to place all that emphasis on people who reliably vote Republican!
I think you nailed it: there’s a very vocal element of the Democratic Party that *likes* McCarthyism, especially now that you’ve got actual socialists winning congressional and state legislative races. At best it’s because they think going left is bad for the party’s electoral prospects, at worst it’s because they themselves are anti-communists and still want to fight the Cold War. Either way, fuck ‘em!
Like, the old Cubans that really care about Castro are ardent Republicans. The younger ones are pretty on board with normalizing relations and probably don't care that a VP candidate said a couple nice things about literacy or healthcare. I don't see a demographic being lost here, besides there being a state party that has that sliver of people who really care.
It's like how 50% of Republicans want Medicare for All but 0% of GOP members of Congress support it. The political class is not the people at large, they often don't relate to each other at all.
interesting. i figured it had more to do with the whole praising scientology thing.
Not a good argument in her favor for sure, but the Cuba stuff got way more traction and thus I think was much more of a factor.
There are plenty of celebrities that the Democratic Party likes for fundraising or publicity reasons that are Scientologists or Scientology-adjacent, so I really don't think the party apparatus minded. Saying vaguely nice things about Castro, like how people didn't die of preventable diseases or how they could read unlike under Batista, was way more disqualifying.
Her praising Scientology is a reason *I* don’t like her, but the Democratic Party insiders likely view that as just doing what you have to do to get elected when the Church of Scientology is near-literally in your district’s backyard. Not condemning Castro as a communist demon, on the other hand...
Hey Paul,
Any comment on Puerto Rican organizers within the Democratic Party alleging electoral malfeasance and suppression, or Brenda Snipes clearly operating as a republican sleeper agent for decades?
I always thought Snipes was just hilariously incompetent but I just found out through Wikipedia she was appointed by Jeb. Huh!
I think the Democratic Party as a whole is shooting itself in the foot of it continues to ignore Puerto Rican voters. And the stuff I’m seeing about the Biden campaign’s Latino voter outreach is giving me severe deja vu from 2016.
The people of San Juan literally rolled a guillotine up to the governor's house, of course the Dem leadership wants to suppress that. Can't have actual working class people wanting power now