Here's an example of racism as of last week. By the Republicant party no less, so don't tell me racism is dead:

THE SOUTHERN STRATEGY LIVES.... The chairman of the Virginia Beach Republican Party sent around an email this year, sharing a little "joke" he found amusing. His message was that his dog should be eligible for welfare because, as the "joke" goes, the dog is "black, unemployed, lazy, can't speak English and has no frigging clue who his Daddy is."

As racist displays go, this is unambiguously ugly, and the local GOP chairman was forced to resign this week. But it's worth contextualizing the incident to appreciate the larger truth. Indeed, it's hard not to notice the broader, more systemic Republican attempts this year to use identity politics to win votes.