And that realignment wasn’t REALLY a switch of positions. Rather instead of being divided mostly along economic issues, they became divided along social (largely racial and religious) lines. In the early 60s both parties had socially conservative wings and more liberal ones. NOW both parties have populist economic wings and economically “neoliberal” ones. Both Bernie and Trump appealed to the populist wings. The party apparatchiks in both parties have been in thrall to big-money doners for decades.
Edited to add Although 150 years ago the Republican party stood for SMALL(ish) business against the extreme concentration of wealth represented by slavery and the plantation system. Their opposition to slavery was as more economic than racial. (make no mistake though. Many were anti-slavery BECAUSE of racism…they didn’t want to share the continent with black people)
