The wedge wasn’t race based. The racial undercurrent has always been there. The way they really inflamed the division began under Reagan was the beginning of the culture wars. God, Guns, and Gays (remember, the AIDS epidemic was unfolding). That gave the Dixiecrats the out without mentioning race. Though it must be said Reagan used the “welfare queens and their pink Cadillacs” to great effect. It continues to this day. Gays slipped from their grasp, so today the third leg of the stool has become certain classes of immigrants.