The driver was not native-born. In fact, he lives amongst the community of 300,000 immigrants from Ethiopia in and around Washington, D.C. At the time (a couple of weeks ago) I thought it was too complex a question to answer by the time our cab arrived at its destination, so I was pleased when the next thing out of my mouth was “how much do I owe you?”

The next time I was asked this question was from a car salesman in Los Angeles, making chit chat during a test drive. He sported a pony tale, reminisced with my husband about their stints in Viet Nam and had no idea how big the Ethiopian immigrant community is in D.C.

How could these two vote as a block? Let alone the movers and shakers I met during my tenure in the D.C. office of my company? Or the white-haired grandmas I saw shepherding multi-generations from one airport gate to another when I last changed planes in Dallas? Amongst my peers, one good friend lives and breathes for Hillary Clinton and the Democrats. Another is one of the Republicans’ top volunteers.

Again, I was relieved, this time it was when the conversation turned to mileage and financing.

The prevailing theory amongst political pundits is that the boomer population is too big and diverse for them to say anything definitive about for whom boomers will vote. But the marketer in me has observed this generation for multiple decades, swaying culture one way or another. As much as young folks love Starbucks, for instance, it was boomers who invented the notion of casual cafes on every block of every major city. Before boomers, women tended to get married and leave the workforce, or go for lower-end jobs rather than big careers. Before boomers, there was no such thing as fast food.

Obviously, there are certain generalizations you can make about this generation, based largely on the cultural influences that have acted upon the boomers as they have gone through their various life stages. Deny this, and you deny that there is any difference between the generations—and as The Greatest Generation on one bookend, and Gen X on the other, are quick to affirm—just t’aint so.

Thinking this through, I realized that there is an answer to the question—if not predicting boomers voting “as a block”, at least about them swaying culture in one definitive way or another.

Once again, look to the convergence of cultural influences and life stage. In brief, boomers have always wanted to know that they will not have anything they’ve been counting on taken away from them. They have always felt entitled to (some would say more than) their fair share. Quick to make sure justice is rendered—especially when it pertains to their own needs/concerns.

Will this tendency be any less when it comes to politically-ordained policies they have been counting on to help them make the transition to and through their elder years? Why should the stage of life they are now entering be any different?

It may take a crisis (real or created) around an issue about which they care deeply to galvanize them into a cohesive voting force. But if/when they are sufficiently woken up from whatever degree of complacency/denial has allowed them to splinter into many factions on what will someday—as important as they may be—be perceived as “lesser” issues, God help the candidate who is on the wrong side of the fence. It could be Republican or Democrat, male or female, any religion or ethnic heritage: this is far less an issue of “who” than of “where”, as in where do the candidates stand on the cornerstone issues like Medicare and Social Security, when boomers are actually paying attention.

So now I’ve got a quick answer, suitable for even the shortest cab ride. Of course Boomers are galvanizable. The real questions are whether the boomer vote will be sufficient to offset those of the younger generations who have different priorities and concerns; and at the same time, whether a candidate can win without boomers on board? And the ultimate question: is there a candidate gutsy enough to take this on and find out?

Carol Orsborn