No, comparing the Republican Party prior to a few decades back with the current party, and doing the same for the Dems is wrong. The original KKK were Democrats, all those crazy super right wing jim crow Republicans in Congress (who have all died off) were Democrats. Put we can’t characterize the living, active members of these parties on the critter that 50 or 100 years ago things were different.

“Its [the Ku Klux Klan] members waged an underground campaign of intimidation and violence directed at white and black Republican leaders. Though Congress passed legislation designed to curb Klan terrorism, the organization saw its primary goal–the reestablishment of white supremacy–fulfilled through Democratic victories in state legislatures across the South in the 1870s.” -History.com.

The Italians, I am sorry, but they don’t get a holiday.

Martin Luther King and Jr … Republican

Some quotes from MLK Jr.

“I don’t think the Republican party is a party full of the almighty God nor is the Democratic party. They both have weaknesses … And I’m not inextricably bound to either party.”

The Republican Party geared its appeal and program to racism, reaction, and extremism. All people of goodwill viewed with alarm and concern the frenzied wedding at the Cow Palace of the KKK with the radical right. The “best man” at this ceremony was a senator whose voting record, philosophy, and program were anathema to all the hard-won achievements of the past decade.
Senator Goldwater had neither the concern nor the comprehension necessary to grapple with this problem of poverty in the fashion that the historical moment dictated. On the urgent issue of civil rights, Senator Goldwater represented a philosophy that was morally indefensible and socially suicidal. While not himself a racist, Mr. Goldwater articulated a philosophy which gave aid and comfort to the racist. His candidacy and philosophy would serve as an umbrella under which extremists of all stripes would stand. In the light of these facts and because of my love for America, I had no alternative but to urge every Negro and white person of goodwill to vote against Mr. Goldwater and to withdraw support from any Republican candidate that did not publicly disassociate himself from Senator Goldwater and his philosophy.

It seems that Martin Luther King Jr. was no fan of Reagan:

When a Hollywood performer, lacking distinction even as an actor can become a leading war hawk candidate for the Presidency, only the irrationalities induced by a war psychosis can explain such a melancholy turn of events.

Finally, his son, said this:

“It is disingenuous to imply that my father was a Republican. He never endorsed any presidential candidate, and there is certainly no evidence that he ever even voted for a Republican.”

Your assertion, Brandon, that he was a Republican seems to be a blatant falsehood.

Brandon, you stopped reading after the third sentence? That approach will get you the muddled view of history you seem to have! 🙂