Actually, I think Humpty Dumpty himself would have stopped short of claiming, as you appear to do, that if a word exists then its referent too must exist. That sounds a bit like the ontological argument for the existence of god. Sadly, I know for sure god doesn't exist otherwise Ronaldo would be playing for Barnsley. Sadly, it's more likely Humpty Dumpty will get a game for us. 
Reply With QuoteYou're quite right there. Florida is indeed a retirement state that's why Republicans have done reasonably well. It has a large Hispanic bloc and of course a resident Black population. The Hispanics were not all Dems as some would suggest, but from recent trends the establishment to cast them as outsiders, have turned many away. Hispanics in Florida unlike California or Arizona would not necessarily be from Mexico, rather other Central American states including Cuba. I think Reagan, and the 2 Bushes did have some policies that encouraged them and gave them breaks, many then being single mothers who worked hard to ensure their kids got a good education - eg Senator Marco Rubio. GOP policies supported people like these and the Ilian Gonzalez incident under the Clinton Administration turned them away from Democrats.Originally Posted by Geoff Parkstone
But the swing to the Democrats is well and truly on. Of course there is no presumption on my part about the majority of these felons being either Black or Hispanic, but if I'm not wrong (and to be very wrong which unlikely) almost all reports not just in Florida but nationwide show a greater disparity in prisoners and felons between their racial percentages. You forgot 1 serious felony in your list which accounts for the majority with records - drug related offences. Most Whites tend to escape as they have monies and can afford lawyers, whereas the lower end Black and Hispanics cannot. This has led to record numbers in jail.
So for this 1.5m, I think maybe non-Whites might account up to 75%, maybe even more. Of course, most might not vote, in the US, the GOP controlled states realised that the key to winning is not how many people support your party, rather how many you can muster to register to vote and then ensure they vote. Registration to put it mildly is sometimes a bitch, and most of the poorer folk either don't know, don't have enough proper documents, don't have time or the money to go to the polling station. The Republicans are extremely good in this. If 750,000 of these people can turn up in 2020 and the Dems register them properly, they stand a good chance.
I might be mistaken, but if I'm not wrong, I read somewhere that only around 15 states allow felons to vote. In many of the rest, they can vote only after 2 years, but must re-register or be granted permission. In some states, even if you convicted as a minor, you still lose your right. And most do not allow those on probation to vote. So you have like 2 years after release on probation, then a further 2 years before you become eligible. So maybe these 1.5m might not be ready to vote in 2020, but say 2022 or 2024, and they might have to register, depending on exactly what legislation Florida passed.
