Grand Old Partisan

Miguel Estrada nominated for the federal bench

On this day in 2001, President George W. Bush nominated Honduran-born Miguel Estrada to be the first Hispanic to serve on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit.  To prevent Estrada from eventually becoming a U.S. Supreme Court Justice, Democrat Senators successfully filibustered his nomination.

Michael Zak is the person who created the "nuclear option" for overcoming the filibuster.  The origin of his idea, which he presented to the Senate Republican leadership, is the manner in which the GOP defeated the Democrat filibuster against the 1957 Civil Rights Act.  For more information, see the April 29, 2005 issue of The New York Sun:

"The idea for implementing such a motion [the nuclear option] probably originated with an Internet posting on a conservative Web site written in 2003 by the author of Back to Basics for the Republican Party by Michael Zak, who has done extensive research on the GOP’s historical support for civil rights.  The article brought Mr. Zak to the attention of the director of outreach at the Senate Policy Committee, Barbara Ledeen.  Mr.Zak later explained his idea to a policy adviser in the office of the Senate majority leader, Senator Frist of Tennessee.  Mr. Zak also sent his option idea by e-mail to several key Senate staff members."

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 our Party's heritage of civil rights achievement.  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 -- http://grandoldpartisan.typepad.com -- celebrates 154 years of Republican heroes and heroics.  See www.republicanbasics.com for more information.

Republicans first call Abraham Lincoln "the Rail Splitter"

On this day in 1860, Abraham Lincoln acquired the nickname "the Rail Splitter."  The convention of the Illinois Republican Party, meeting at Decatur, began with a grand gesture.  At the invitation of the chairman, Governor Richard Oglesby, two childhood friends of Lincoln carried in two 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."  This nickname would highlight Lincoln's humble, working-class origins, in contrast to the elitist Democrat leadership.

This state convention, meeting just a week before the national 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."

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 our Party's heritage of civil rights achievement.  Back to Basics for the Republican Party is his acclaimed history of the GOP cited by Clarence Thomas in a Supreme Court decision.  Each day, his Grand Old Partisan blog -- http://grandoldpartisan.typepad.com -- celebrates 154 years of Republican heroes and heroics.  See www.republicanbasics.com for more information.

Republicans restored the Frederick Douglass home

On this day in 2003, Speaker of the House Dennis Hastert (R-IL) and other congressional Republican leaders gathered at Cedar Hill, the Washington, DC home of Frederick Douglass, to announce a $2 million restoration project.  Douglass lived there while serving in the administrations of several Republican presidents.

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 our Party's heritage of civil rights achievement.  Back to Basics for the Republican Party is his acclaimed history of the GOP cited by Clarence Thomas in a Supreme Court decision.  Each day, his Grand Old Partisan blog -- http://grandoldpartisan.typepad.com -- celebrates 154 years of Republican heroes and heroics.  See www.republicanbasics.com for more information.