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Want a quick snapshot of how national electoral politics is changing in America?
Forty-five percent of those who voted for President Obama were racial minorities. Worryingly for Republicans, Obama’s already overwhelming margin among Hispanics broadened further Tuesday night, according to one report. In 2008, he won among Latinos by 36 points — 67 percent to 31 percent. On Tuesday, he expanded that advantage to a full 40 points: 69 percent to 29 percent. The demographic factors played an outsize role in some key states. In Ohio, for example, African-Americans reportedly accounted for 15 percent of the total vote this year, compared to 11 percent in 2008. Ninety-six percent of those voters backed Obama.
As a nation we have arrived at a tipping point. The influence of white males, as a voting bloc, has significantly faded. This means the GOP "Southern strategy," that not so concealed racially motivated strategy that allowed the GOP to bank on the South and white male voters elsewhere, has finally moved into history. The Republican Party has counted on these blocs since the passage of the 1965 Civil Rights Act.
Both major parties now increasingly will have to vy for the votes of racial minority blocs, as well as gays and lesbians, to be successful in the future.
The political landscape dramatically changed last night. American will be better off for it.
