I have a step grandfather who is super far right but insists he’s a democrat and that he’s the only true democrat in the family since he was elected as a democrat judge in a rather conservative area in Ohio in the 80s or 90s. He has also said the only thing he can do to save the country is to vote for crazy fascist republicans. Insists he knows how to run a government better than everyone in the family as well all because he was a judge.

One of my favorite thing to do with him is talk about something that impacts me and not tell him that it impacts me directly until after he’s been super shitty about it. Once I say it impacts me he then backtracks and tries to say that he still fully believes in the things he believes in but that he didn’t mean me, he meant the other ones. That my situation was different for no reason. He’s a piece of shit who my family expects me to respect, but I have many times purposefully been disrespectful because someone like him deserves negative respect.

[–] tuxrandom@kbin.social 37 points 1 year ago (3 children)

To be fair, he may actually be a democrat, just a historic one. Their 'roles' were kind of reversed compared to today until somewhere in the last century if my outside knowledge of US political history serves right.

[–] buckykat@lemmy.blahaj.zone 25 points 1 year ago* (last edited 1 year ago)

The flip came with Johnson signing the Civil Rights Act and then Goldwater and Nixon capitalizing on racists' anger about it with the Southern Strategy.

[–] LovingHippieCat@lemmy.world 15 points 1 year ago

Yeah that’s basically what he is. I’ve never talked to him about the party switch and it’d be an interesting and probably very frustrating situation.

That said, you mentioning that has given me an idea about what to say the next time he says he’s a democrat so thank you for that!

[–] OwenEverbinde@lemmy.myserv.one 15 points 1 year ago

Ah, a Strom Thurmond Democrat.