Lear intended to show the world that conservatives were idiots.
Yes, indeed, Archie was mocked and derided.
Still, I’m grateful for O’Connor’s portrayal and wish that we deplorables had a similar character on TV today to admire.
O' Connor was smart to not let people know he was a super liberal kook in real life.
He would say, "Yes, i'm passionate about things like Archie, but in a different way"
And laughed all the way to the bank, because he knew the character was popular.
An actor playing a conservative in 2019 would say:"F-NO! I hate this character. He's like a billion Trump-Hitlers rolled up into one ball. F those people who like my character. He's hateful and should be put away. They need to be put away, too."