We are all Slave now.

[sebastian_dangerfield]

Originally Posted by Tyrone Slothrop

Before we go making a saint out of establishment Republicans, let's remember that establishment Republicans like George H.W. Bush, Lee Atwater and Roger Ailes trucked in their share of racism to win the Presidency.

Fair enough. Willie Horton was some rancid shit, but that was more Atwater than anything else. Bush 41's record on race matters was otherwise decent. (Even crediting his wife's dumb comments on Katrina to him.)

W's hit job on McCain's daughter in 2000 was far worse. I don't give him a pass like the old man. I think he knew what he was doing and is just a hyper-competitive prick.

But generally, old line GOP voters simply did not pay attention to matters of race or sex. They were pocketbook voters. Call them clueless, criticize them for their ignorance -- that's all fair. But my fucking 90 year old grandparents who only voted R because they had a business and that's what you did when you had a business back then weren't racists. They were just people who figured it was always better to pay less in taxes. They'd have never voted for someone like Trump (because they were Eastern European immigrants who knew what demagogues looked like).