General Discussion
In reply to the discussion: A question for older DUers and those who study history: Were repubicans always this nuts? [View all]Yavin4
(35,433 posts)and FDR was elevated to hero status due to WWII. Americans grew to trust the Dems on the economy over the Republicans.
Fear of Communism allowed Republicans to gain a foot hold in America. From McCarthy to Nixon, they were seen as being tougher on the Commies than the Dems. For decades, Dems had to prove that they could be as tough on the Reds as the Republicans. This bullshit machoism is the prime motivation behind the disastrious Vietnam war.
After the electoral defeats in 1960 and 1964, the Republicans needed something else to gain traction with the electorate. They seized upon disaffected Southern Whites who were angry over the passage of Civil Rights laws. The Southern Strategy put them back on equal footing with the Dems.
In 1976, Jimmy Carter countered the Southern Strategy by being a Southerner and courting the Evangelical vote.
Finally, in 1980, Reagan put it all together, being tough on Communism, courting disaffected White Southerners, pandering to Evangelicals, and he even pulled in Nothern Whites.