The philosophy has worked well for Democrats over the years, and it's one that the highest ranking Democrat in the Georgia state senate continues to employ:
On a local television program in Middle Georgia, Senator Brown was asked about a series of party switchers from Democrats to Republicans. Brown responded, “I mean, what does the wife do then, put on some red sheets on the bed and say ‘You know we can get rid of the blue sheets, but keep the white one over there because we might need that one for the midnight meeting.’”
That's a typical southern Democrat tactic - if you repeat a lie often enough, then people begin to believe it's the truth. Never mind that by far, the majority of KKK members were Democrats; they've linked Republicans to the organization so often that many have come to equate Republicans with slavery, and with other means of holding people down. It may be stupid, but so far, it's worked.