http://thedailybanter.com/2016/01/how-president-obama-collapsed-the-gops-fragile-coalition/
"the most pronounced political realignment in modern times took place when the right wing Dixiecrats jumped to the GOP in reaction to the civil rights bill. People who placed a mix of religion and racism at the top of their political/social priority list found themselves caught up in a party that neither understood, nor accepted their beliefs so they moved on. Within a few years, the Southern Strategy was born and the party evolved into its current form. The anti federal government sentiment of the Southern confederates blended perfectly with the anti-regulation positions of the wealthy free market capitalists. The wealthy capitalist wing of the party, currently referred to as the “establishment,” realized that they could make a very comfortable living off of hollow promises and coded messages of racial resentment. Ronald Reagan, a true master of the game, gutted working class laws while spinning tall tales about welfare queens. The GOP establishment continuously delivered tax cuts for themselves and promises to return America to the good old days for the White working class. Barack Obama personified everything the GOP’s Neo-Confederate class feared. A country where people of color and progressives outnumbered native whites wasn’t yet a numerical reality but to them, that power dynamic had arrived early. This created a political problem that the conservative coalition couldn’t survive. The Southern conservative base demanded that their racial resentment towards the president and their religious social agenda be placed above all else. This meant closing the government and collapsing the economy if necessary. Unfortunately for them, the capitalists needed the wheels of government to continue so that they could maintain a political and economic system that kept them rich and happy. The tension between these positions created a toxic political environment for Washington conservatives."
