OK, so maybe it isn't about race. Is Frank Rich (NYTimes) right that it's about fear?

I agree w/ Frank Rich. Many lower- income Americans have always played by the rules. They did their jobs. They were active in their communities, etc.Then the rules changed. Deregulation came about around the same time as women & minorities entered the workplace. The balance of power was shifted. For some people, even people who are basically good, these changes were more than they could deal with.Enter the "Southern Strategy", which was a way for Republicans to divide the country. Instead of admitting how deregulation, union busting, etc. hurt lower-income American's jobs, they instilled fear of the "other".It not only works in the South. Reagan used it to pull away the "Reagan Democrats".Republicans want to turn Americans against Americans. I think it's pathetic.