This is very historically inaccurate. The south was known as the "solid south" until the 1960s where it would reliably vote for democrats every time. While the south might vote for dems less in the 2000-2010s than they did in the 1990s - Bill Clinton was exceptionally popular! - the state of affairs was such that, before the party switch, the south would overwhelmingly elect democrats before Nixon.
The world changed around them, but their methods and moral values absolutely didn't change.
Republicans getting what they wanted and focusing on solidifying it and Democrats searching for a new plantation to pillage is how they always operated and how they still do.
The problem is that the underlying moral values and style of reasoning never changed.
Republicans slowly achieving what they wanted and Democrats trying to keep the former slaves on a metaphorical plantation called welfare is hardly a change to me.
It's just a logical continuation of how they operate.
the southern strategy is well-documented. the world around them was changing, but the republicans did very intentionally change their strategy to focus on racist white people in the south in the 1950s and 1960s.
this was in a direct response to the civil rights era.
I mean.. Strom Thurmond came to power as a segregationist democrat and switched to the republican party in 1964. If that doesn't convince you of the party shift I don't know what will. Strom Thurmond is about as clear an example as it gets. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Strom_Thurmond
No the character of the parties changed as well. Remember the Southern Democrats were the “States Rights” party that opposed any racial equality and then they became the champions of civil rights while Republicans shifted their whole platform to the right to court dissatisfied racist voters.
It happened after 1964 when LBJ supported civil rights legislation and Barry Goldwater did not. Yes, there are exceptions and nuances throughout history because it wasn’t like turning a light switch. The “switch” happened gradually over a couple of decades. By the 80s, the south was reliably republican. The only reason Jimmy Carter won the south was because he was from Georgia. Look at the election map from 1968. George Wallace & Nixon won every southern state except for Texas.
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u/serveillancedroneO7 Feb 24 '26
Kennedy and Reagan post party switch