LETTER: Remember Republican history

Corvallis Gazette-Times OPINION/Letters, February 1, 2009
"Remember Republican History" by Jeff Limón

Republicans invented the Civil Rights movement. It was the post-Civil War Republicans who pushed the 13th, 14th, and 15th amendments (banning slavery, conferring equal protection under the law to the former slaves and giving the former slaves of the right to vote.)

These initiatives were staunchly supported by Republicans and furiously opposed by Democrats. We also pioneered women’s suffrage and were largely responsible for the passage of the 19th amendment.

Yet today, no one dares credit Republicans for these gains. No one remembers that when it came to voting on the Civil Right Act of 1964, a larger percentage of Republicans than Democrats voted “yes” in both the House of Representatives and the Senate. No one mentions that Sen. Robert Byrd, a former Klansman, filibustered against the Civil Rights bill for 14 hours.

I am a Republican because I believe in the fundamental wisdom and intelligence of ordinary people, just as the first Republicans believed that the slaves possessed these qualities, and more.

Lincoln referred to Frederick Douglass as “one of the most meritorious men in all of America.” Lincoln’s successor, Andrew Johnson, a Democrat, used racial slurs to describe Douglass.

Lincoln believed that the former slaves could govern themselves just as Republicans today believe that good government means less government. Johnson believed that if the former slaves governed themselves, they would “descend into barbarism.”

I believe that Lincoln got it right, and I am proud of the Republicans’ contribution to civil rights and to America.

Jeff Limon
Corvallis

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