Democrats Breaking GOP's Long Lock on Cuban Vote.

[elleng]

Miami has long been the capital of Cuban exiles. And running for Congress there has required two things: being Republican and taking a hard line on Cuba.

Joe Garcia became the first Cuban-American Democrat elected to the House from Florida in 2012. His election signaled a crack in a critical GOP constituency. Garcia represents a new breed of Cuban-American, more interested in pragmatism and reconciliation than regime change and isolation.

It's a generational shift that could help change U.S. policy toward Cuba and reshape politics in the swing state of Florida.

The implications are troubling for the GOP, which has long had a lock on the Cuban-American vote. The community makes up a third of the state's fast-growing Hispanic population.

http://www.nytimes.com/aponline/2014/01/03/us/politics/ap-us-democrats-cuba-politics.html?hp

[msongs]

1. normalize relations with cuba...own the cuban american vote for generations nt

[Rozlee]

2. The loss of the Cuban-American vote is just another minority vote Republicans can kiss off.

They've alienated everyone else. At one time, they could even count on Arab-Americans as reliable allies, but they sure put the kibosh on that since they've replaced commies with Middle Eastern terrorists as the new bogeymen. The anti-immigration fervor of the teabaggers carries a large umbrella. They look at all Latinos, regardless of immigration status, as suspect. I'm sure Cuban-Americans aren't feeling the love either. Republicans lump all us Hispanics into a tribe that's taking away all their jobs while conversely, living on welfare doing nothing.

[davidpdx]

3. Good to see someone like him take a stance like that