GOP: Yes, Jackie Robinson was a Republican

GRAND OLD PARTISAN, 1/31/2011 by Michael Zak - "Grand Old Partisan salutes a great Republican, Jackie Robinson, born this day in 1919. He is shown here with the man who hired him, Brooklyn Dodgers general manager Branch Rickey. ∴ Branch Rickey was also a Republican. The Missouri Republican Party later offered to nominate him for Governor and Senator, but he preferred baseball to politics. One of the reasons that Branch Rickey selected Jackie Robinson to break the color barrier in major league baseball was their compatible political beliefs. It is beyond dispute that Robinson was a Republican.

Jackie Robinson campaigned for Richard Nixon against John Kennedy in 1960. After Nixon was defeated for governor of California in 1962, Robinson wrote to console the future Republican president:

“The only regret I have in supporting you twice is that I was unfortunate not to have been able to help more than I did. I am sorry also that most Negroes were unwilling to believe the promises you made. I personally was, and still am, convinced that you were the best candidate for the presidency in 1960 and a man we need very much in Government Service.”

“Do not let your critics cause you to give up your career. Each of us came into this world for a purpose. I believe that yours is service to our country.”

In 1964, Jackie Robinson accepted a position in the administration of the Republican governor of New York, Nelson Rockefeller. That year, he campaigned for Rockefeller in the Republican presidential primaries. Like many Republicans, Robinson expressed dissatisfaction with the Goldwater nomination. Nonetheless, in 1966, he campaigned for Governor Rockefeller’s re-election and continued to work as his special assistant for civil rights for another two years."

The Republican Party welcomes a comparison of its history since 1854 with that of the Democrats -– the party of slavery, Jim Crow, and the Ku Klux Klan.

The Republican National Committee published a version of my article on the RNC website. Journolistas pounced, but Republicans shall know the truth and the truth shall set them free.