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I don't think Nixon invited segregationists into the fold and the Republicans suddenly became the party of the KKK. I think Republicans became right wing when they used to be progressive, and Democrats became left wing when they used to be... well, not really conservative but certainly more appealing to cultural conservatives.
The Republicans became the party of conservatives and the Democrats became the party of progressives - which was essentially a reversal of their previous roles. Someone who voted Republican in the 1850s would probably vote Democrat today, and vice versa. Obviously direct comparisons are not going to fit exactly (an 1850s voter wouldn't even understand many of our issues, and many things that were important in the 1850s aren't now). Perhaps it's simplistic to say they simply traded places, but their "axioms and organizing principles" absolutely changed, and in many cases were reversed.
As far as I can tell, your objection to the "myth" (which it is not) that Republicans and Democrats have changed and come to represent very different constituencies (which party attracted black voters from after the Civil War and which party attracted the working class throughout most of the 20th century) is that you'd really like to keep hanging racism around the Democrats' necks, and they'd really like to claim Republicans are now the party of racists. Both arguments are tactical political ones but neither addresses what actually historically changed.
...and I don't think that this claim is borne out by the historical record.
The Republican Party of the late 1800s is a big tent coalition organized around a core of aligned religious and business interests and that remains a fairly accurate description of the Republican Party today. This along with the fact a man like William McKinley (with his rhetoric about unskilled immigration is driving wages down, and advocacy for higher tariffs and lower taxes to promote investment in American business) is not only immediately recognizable as "Republican" within the context of the contemporary parties but surprisingly relevant for someone who's been dead for over 120 years, is strong evidence against the claim that the party's axioms and organizing principles have changed significantly in the intervening years.
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