Whites basically organized the Republican party in the South to defend white people. For a long time after the Civil War, there wasn't one -- at least not one comprised of Southerners. The party was reorganized to combat the Democrats who became (and still are) dominated by blacks. They like to pretend it's about small government ideology, but the idea is that the government is using its power to favor nonwhites.
Whites basically organized the Republican party in the South to defend white people. For a long time after the Civil War, there wasn't one -- at least not one comprised of Southerners. The party was reorganized to combat the Democrats who became (and still are) dominated by blacks. They like to pretend it's about small government ideology, but the idea is that the government is using its power to favor nonwhites.