The Grieving McCain-Voters Thread

[steven787]

mrstickball said:
And that's despite the fact that Republicans were the ones that voted in the Civil Rights Acts and Fair Housing Acts of the 1960's.

 

you are right, the Republicans were the party that more heavily supported the Civil Rights Act of 1964 (though both parties mostly supported it), but the Civil Rights Act of 1968 under Johnson is where the Democrats alienated the South.  Nixon then turned the South Republican by opposing further civil rights legislation and not alienating any Republicans by properly executing the previous legislation, and the Republicans had held the South ever since by voting against new civil right legislation.

Civil Rights Act of 1968

Passage of the bill

The passage of the bill was largely spurred by the assassination of Martin Luther King, Jr. a week before. [2] Vote statistics (Senate):

• Passed 71-20
• Democrats: 42-17 (71.2% For, 28.8% Against)
• Republicans: 29-3 (90.6% For, 9.4% Against)
  

House:

• Passed 250-172
• Democrats: 150-88 (63% For, 37% Against)
• Republicans: 100-84 (54.3% For, 45.6% Against)

 

When Johnson and many Dems supported the bill in 1968, the Dems lost the South.  Notice, House Republicans didn't support it as strongly.