And many of the white voters the Republican Party pursued in those years were explicitly racist. The GOP tapped into sentiment that said segregation was good for everybody, that society functions better when Blacks "know their place," and that local schools must not be integrated, even if violent measures must be taken to keep Black kids out of "White" schools.

All this happened within living memory. It's not ancient history. I was a child, but I still remember those conversations. I still remember the blatant racism. I still remember how people voted Republican in order to keep racism going.

Hell, in the small, industrial Ohio city I was born in, working-class people switched to the Republican Party (against their own economic interests as workers) not despite Republican racism, but explicitly because of Republican racism.

Specifically, many White Democrats in that city were horrified that Black people were moving into the "good side" (read: White side) of town, and so they started voting for Republican candidates who promised either directly or indirectly to fight that "problem."

I vividly remember the dinner-table conversations while all this was going down.

Since I remember so well personally, I have to let out a bitter laugh when anyone tries to suggest that the Republican Party of today is anything remotely like the party of Lincoln and Douglas.