I don't think republicans have ever been respectable except back when they were actually "democrats". In 1860 the democrats were largely racist southerns bent on states rights and the republicans were northerners who viewed the expansion of the Federal government as a good thing for social justice and the country. By 1930 the parties had effectively swapped names which the modern political reality reflects.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Republican_Party_(United_State...