The Party of Lincoln AND Calhoun? The Right and the Civil War

“When the intellectual authors of the modern right created its doctrines in the 1950s,” wrote Sam Tanenhaus in The New Republic, “they drew on nineteenth-century political thought, borrowing explicitly from the great apologists for slavery, above all, the intellectually fierce South Carolinian John C. Calhoun…. The party of Lincoln… has become the party of Calhoun.” At first glance, such a statement sounds laughable. The Republican Party is indeed the party of Lincoln, a fact it has fully embraced over many years.  A 1992 political button for the campaign for president of George H.W. Bush in my possession claims “a proud tradition” for the GOP, featuring photographs of party luminaries Ronald Reagan, Dwight Eisenhower, Teddy Roosevelt, and Abraham Lincoln.


Read more at The Imaginative Conservative Read More......

A Republican President issued the Emancipation Proclamation

"On this day in 1862, President Abraham Lincoln (R-IL) issued the Emancipation Proclamation. Effective at yearend, all slaves in Confederate-controlled territory would be "forever free." ∴ Ill-informed critics of the first Republican President Lincoln fault the Emancipation Proclamation for only freeing slaves in areas not yet under the control of the U.S. government, but -- because of the Democratic Party's resolute defense of slavery -- the federal government had the necessary authority only over so-called "property" of the rebels. ∴ Within two years, the Republican-controlled 38th Congress followed up this great advance by enacting the 13th Amendment, banning slavery throughout the nation."

Michael Zak is a popular speaker to Republican organizations around the country. Back to Basics for the Republican Party is his acclaimed history of the GOP, He is also the author of the 2005 Republican Freedom Calendar. His Grand Old Partisan website celebrates more than fifteen decades of Republican heroes and heroics. Visit www.grandoldpartisan.com for more information. Read More......

Seven Score and Four Years Ago

GRAND OLD PARTISAN BLOG, 12/15/2009 by Michael Zak - The United States emerged from the Civil War a vastly different county. No longer could Democrats hinder economic progress so as to protect the slave system. Once most Democrats in Congress had gone with the Confederacy, Republicans met little opposition in enacting their pro-growth economic agenda: a national banking system and a national currency, free land for farmers in the Plains states, land-grant colleges, the transcontinental railroad, and other structural reforms that soon made the United States the wealthiest country in the world. Read more at the Grand Old Partisan... Read More......

History: Abraham Lincoln, the Rail Splitter

GRAND OLD PARTISAN, 5/8/2009 by Michael Zak - On this day in 1860, Abraham Lincoln acquired the nickname the Rail Splitter.

The Illinois Republican Party convention began with a grand gesture. At the invitation of the chairman, Governor Richard Oglesby, two childhood friends of Lincoln carried in two wooden rails he was said to have split thirty years earlier. Delegates then lifted Lincoln on their shoulders and carried him to the stage. The Republican dubbed him the Rail Splitter.

Meeting just a week before the Republican National Convention, the state convention helped propel Lincoln to the presidential nomination. Delegates voted to give him their unanimous support:

"Abraham Lincoln is the first choice of the Republicans of Illinois for the Presidency and their delegates are instructed to use every honorable means to secure his nomination, and to cast the vote of the state as a unit for him."

This image of Abraham Lincoln the Rail Splitter was a signal that, unlike the Democrats, Republicans revered the free market system and people who worked for a living. It also contrasted Lincoln's working-class sensibilities with the elitism of his Democrat opponent, Stephen Douglas, owner of a slave plantation in Mississippi.

Michael Zak is a popular speaker to Republican organizations around the country, showing office-holders, candidates and activists how they would benefit tremendously from appreciating the heritage of our Grand Old Party. Back to Basics for the Republican Party is his acclaimed history of the GOP from the Republican point of view. Each day, his Grand Old Partisan blog celebrates decades of Republican heroes and heroics. See www.RepublicanBasics.com for more information. Read More......

History: Lincoln's 2nd Inaugural Address

GRAND OLD PARTISAN, 3/4/2009 - On this day in 1865, Abraham Lincoln (R-IL) delivered his second inaugural address. The President concluded with this classic appeal for magnanimity:

"With malice toward none, with charity for all, with firmness in the right as God gives us to see the right, let us strive on to finish the work we are in, to bind up the nation's wounds, to care for him who shall have borne the battle and for his widow and his orphan, to do all which may achieve and cherish a just and lasting peace among ourselves and with all nations."

Hearing that Frederick Douglass (R-MD) was being denied entry to the inaugural ball, Lincoln ordered that he be allowed in. The Great Emancipator greeted him with "Here comes my friend Douglass" and shook his hand. He then asked Douglass his opinion of the speech. "Mr. President," he replied, "that was a sacred effort."

Michael Zak is a popular speaker to Republican organizations around the country [***Speaking at Dorchester 2009***]. He is the author of Back to Basics for the Republican Party, cited by Clarence Thomas in a Supreme Court decision. Each day, the Grand Old Partisan blog celebrates 155 years of Republican heroes and heroics. See www.RepublicanBasics.com for more information. Read More......

A History Lesson in the East Room [with comments added]

February 18, 2009, The Caucus, A New York Times Blog by Rachel L. Swarns - First Lady Michelle Obama opened the doors of the White House to 180 sixth and seventh graders on Wednesday for a Black History Month celebration that included two pep talks and a rousing musical performance.

The students, who came from three local schools here, heard from Adm. Stephen W. Rochon, the chief usher, who runs the mansion and oversees everything from state dinners to redecorating. He is the first African-American [named by REPUBLICAN President George W. Bush] to hold that position.

They also heard from Mrs. Obama, who told the students a little bit about the black history of the White House. She talked about the slaves who helped build the executive mansion, about Lincoln [first REPUBLICAN President] signing the Emancipation Proclamation there and about Marie Seilka, a soprano, who became the first African-American artist to perform in the White House in 1878 [by invitation of REPUBLICAN President and Mrs. Rutherford B. Hayes].

She described President Kennedy’s meeting with the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. [REPUBLICAN Civil Rights leader]... [Yes, he was!] in the White House and President Obama, who is the first African-American president to live there. Then – as her daughters, Malia and Sasha, listened along with the students — she urged the students to remember that they would write the next chapters in history.

“So you have to ask yourselves, what will you do in life to help someone else in need?” Mrs. Obama said to the young people who were gathered in the East Room. “You have to ask yourselves, what are you going to do to make your own community stronger? What are you going to do to make sure that this nation is even greater? And what are you doing right now in school and in your neighborhoods to prepare yourselves to assume a level of responsibility and to be good citizens?"

“Think about, as the Admiral says, getting up every single day and working hard, as hard as you can; putting your best foot forward all the time, not just when somebody is looking, but every single moment; and supporting your family, the folks in your own households; making your beds, putting the dishes up, cleaning your rooms," she said.

“That’s not just a story that Barack Obama is writing, or Admiral Rochon is writing," the first lady said. “Those are the stories that we’re all writing together. And you’re an important part of that."

And after that, the five members of the all-female, African American a cappella ensemble, Sweet Honey in the Rock, sang their hearts out.

Comments by: PJ Hunter (believing that details matter).

[Added 2/17/2014 Re: MLK: REPUBLICAN President Ronald Reagan made Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr's birthday a national holiday] Read More......

Abraham Lincoln, b. 12 Feb 1809

Today is the 200th Anniversary of President Abraham Lincoln's Birth!

Though Mr. Lincoln was the 16th president, he was our first 'Republican' president, elected in 1860, just six years after the establishment of the Republican Party.

Abraham Lincoln, February 12, 1809-April 15, 1865
Bicentennial, 1809-2009

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Republican defender of the slave Dred Scott

"On this day [02/11] in 1856, Montgomery Blair, one of the founders of the Republican Party, argued before the U.S. Supreme Court in defense of the slave Dred Scott, who was suing for his freedom. Blair later served in the cabinet of President Abraham Lincoln. Sadly, all 7 Democrat Justices on the Supreme Court would vote against Mr. Scott, decreeing that "a black man has no rights a white man is bound to respect." Both Republicans voted for him, in the infamous 7-2 Dred Scott decision." --Michael Zak, Grand Old Partisan Blog Read More......

GOP fundraiser celebrates Lincoln, Oregon birthdays

Get your invitation to the March 14th Lincoln Day Dinner HERE!

Gazette-Times, COMMUNITY, February 10, 2009
Republicans in Linn and Benton counties are planning a celebration of two birthdays on Saturday, March 14: the 200th birthday of President Abraham Lincoln (Feb. 12, 1809 to April 15, 1865); and Oregon’s 150th birthday, Feb. 14, 1859. The event is scheduled to take place at the Teen Challenge Willamette Valley Training Center, 31700 Fayetteville Drive in Shedd. The public is invited.

The event includes the presentation of the colors and the Pledge of Allegiance and the Star Spangled Banner, with a social hour at 5 p.m. followed by a sitdown dinner with a choice of entrée, beverage and dessert.

The Teen Challenge Choir will perform patriotic music and auctioneer Reece Hrizuk will preside over verbal and silent auctions. Reece will be assisted by Miss Oregon USA and Miss Oregon Teen USA.

U.S. Rep. Greg Walden and Oregon House Republican leader Bruce Hanna will be keynote speakers.

Tickets are $30 a person or $225 for a table of eight. RSVPs are needed by March 6 because seating is limited. Donations of items for auction are being accepted through March 1.

The event is a fundraiser for the Republican committees in both counties. Proceeds will be used to support GOP candidates, community service projects and upkeep Republican headquarters.

For more information, contact Benton County Republican Headquarters, 754-9155, Stella Guenther, Benton County Republicans, 929-5382 or Deborah Barrett in Linn County at 541-818-0171. Read More......

2009: 200th Anniversary of Lincoln's Birth

In recent years, the Republican leadership missed two chances to hit a home run. If, in early 2004, the Grand Old Party had celebrated its 150th anniversary, Republicans would have entered the Bush-Kerry campaign with greater enthusiasm and sense of purpose. If, in early 2006, the Republican National Committee had celebrated its 150th anniversary, Republicans would have entered the mid-term election campaign more unified and focused.

History now grants the GOP a third chance. Next year is the 200th anniversary of the birth of Abraham Lincoln. Just think of the magnificent opportunities for outreach, for party-building, for fundraising!

Most history books take Abraham Lincoln out of his proper context as a Republican, depicting him instead as "above politics" or as a quasi-Democrat. Democrats can steal our Republican heritage only if we let them. The way for our Party to retake the policy initiative is to embrace our true heritage, undistorted by all those books written by Democrat historians.

As Republicans struggle to repair our damaged brand, we should draw inspiration from our party's first President. We should remind the nation - and ourselves - that ours is the Party of Lincoln.

The bicentennial of Lincoln's birth is less than two month away: February 12, 2009. I call on Republicans around the nation to begin right now to plan commemorative events. Let's be sure to remember the 16th President not only as the Great Emancipator, but also the Great Republican.

By honoring Abraham Lincoln, Ronald Reagan and other Republican heroes at events throughout 2009, you can help the Republican Party get Back to Basics.

Michael Zak is a popular speaker to Republican organizations around the country. He is the author of Back to Basics for the Republican Party. Each day, his Grand Old Partisan blog celebrates 154 years of Republican heroes and heroics. See www.RepublicanBasics.com for more information. Read More......

Wise words from the past... still apply

Received via email: 10 CANNOTS
Though attributed to Abraham Lincoln, this list was written by Rev. William J. H. Boetcker, a pamphlet writer, in 1916.

1. You cannot bring about prosperity by discouraging thrift.
2. You cannot strengthen the weak by weakening the strong
3. You cannot help the poor man by destroying the rich.
4. You cannot further the brotherhood of man by inciting class hatred.
5. You cannot build character and courage by taking away man's initiative and independence.
6. You cannot help small men by tearing down big men.
7. You cannot lift the wage earner by pulling down the wage payer.
8. You cannot keep out of trouble by spending more than your income.
9. You cannot establish security on borrowed money.
10. You cannot help men permanently by doing for them what they will not do for themselves.

According to Cincinnati Skeptics, "In 1942, a group called the Committee for Constitutional Government gave out a great many leaflets entitled "Lincoln on Limitations" that contained on one side a real Lincoln quote and on the other side the 10 Boetcker statements. Boetcker was credited with his statements on the leaflet, but their proximity in print to one real quote by Lincoln, plus the title of the leaflet, led people to think that Lincoln had said the ten listed statements. They were repeated in many printed sources, and are still regarded by many as authentic Lincoln quotes. Carl Sandburg, Lincoln's most famous biographer, dismissed them as spurious."

Not surprisingly, numerous left leaning bloggers dismiss the message and concentrate on the misattribution, while conservative bloggers focus positively on the message and, if aware, easily forgive the misattribution. Read More......