Trump won the white working-man vote..

[Mister Agenda]

What did forcing bigots to uncomfortably confront their bigotry, genteel or otherwise, accomplish?  Oh, only the civil rights movement and the total reformation of the democratic party.

Shhh, shhh, quiet everybody, we can't upset the bigots, they might -do- something.  Fuck, they might even vote for the other guy!  Yeah, no shit, they might flee your party like they did then, and run to the other guys.  Problem?

I don't think the civil rights movement worked the way you think it did. It wasn't about calling average Americans bigots, it was about exposing the reality of bigotry in a way that reached people. MLK was a master of engaging the empathy of anyone who wasn't a committed racist.