re: #80 KGxvi

Even if the Republican Party didn’t survive, the Dixiecrats would have still existed. There’d still be a sizable population that believes the Confederacy was a noble idea. There’d still be some sort of conservative party in the US. It’d just have a different name.

Looking back, I think the veneer of civilization the Republicans ended up with due to Ike and WFB has been the single most damaging historical contingency in US politics.

The confederates and cranks are inevitable, but they would have done much less damage if they were seen for what they are.