Grand Old Partisan honors Richard Wright, born enslaved in Georgia, May 16th 1855. Asked by the head of the Freedmen’s Bureau what message Black students had for northerners, he said: "Sir, tell them we are rising." Atlanta University named him... Read more →
May 16, 2024
May 15, 2024
the GOP’s 1868 Mississippi Constitution
Grand Old Partisan highlights a Republican attempt to end the Democrats’ slave system. After the Civil War, the GOP-controlled Congress required former Confederate states to write new constitutions. Most delegates at the Mississippi convention were Republicans, many of them being... Read more →
May 14, 2024
Republican congressional staffer William Tyler Page, author of The American’s Creed
Grand Old Partisan honors William Tyler Page, born in Maryland, May 14th 1868. Age ten, he worked at a paper-bag factory. Age twenty-three, he began at the GOP-controlled U.S. House of Representatives. Age fifty, the GOP-controlled House named him chief... Read more →
May 13, 2024
Oliver Perry Mason, first Chief Justice of the Nebraska Supreme Court
Grand Old Partisan honors Oliver Perry Mason, born May 13th 1829. Ambition led him from New York to southern states to Ohio to Nebraska, settling there in 1855. He won three terms in the territorial legislature. He served as provost... Read more →
May 12, 2024
Manuel Luján, trailblazing Hispanic Republican
Grand Old Partisan praises Manuel Luján, born in New Mexico, May 12th 1928. After college, he worked for the family insurance business. His father was mayor of Santa Fe. Luján co-founded the Republican National Hispanic Assembly. He was vice chairman... Read more →
May 11, 2024
Samuel Van Sant – Boy Soldier and Republican Governor
Grand Old Partisan salutes Samuel Van Sant, born May 11th 1844. He enlisted in the 9th Illinois Cavalry at seventeen. Albinus Nance, another future Republican Governor, also served in the regiment. Peace restored, the family’s steamboat business led him to... Read more →
May 10, 2024
first-ever Republican speech on the west coast
Grand Old Partisan spotlights the first-ever Republican speech on the west coast. May 10th 1856, George Bates, who had just helped establish the California GOP, spoke in San Francisco about "the principles and aims of the Republican Party". Democrats tried... Read more →
May 09, 2024
Charles Prince, conscientious Georgia Republican Congressman
Grand Old Partisan salutes Charles Prince, born in Maine, May 9th 1837. May 1861, the Lincoln administration named him local postmaster. September 1862, he enlisted as captain of the state’s 23rd Volunteer Infantry. Peace restored, Prince worked as cashier for... Read more →
May 08, 2024
John Dancy, up from slavery to Republican Statesman
Grand Old Partisan honors John Dancy, born in North Carolina, May 8th 1857. Emancipated during the Civil War, he started out at a newspaper, becoming its typographer. Next, the Ulysses Grant administration hired him for a Treasury Department position. Following... Read more →
May 07, 2024
'Uncle Joe' Cannon, legendary Republican Speaker of the House
Grand Old Partisan honors Joseph Cannon, born in North Carolina, May 7th 1836. His family soon moved to Indiana, where his father, a doctor, drowned trying to reach a patient. The ambitious young man studied law with John Usher, who... Read more →
May 06, 2024
Theodore Roosevelt – Police Commissioner of New York City
Grand Old Partisan spotlights the crime-fighting crusade of Theodore Roosevelt. May 6th 1895, a Republican mayor of New York named him president of city’s board of police commissioners. This "iron-willed leader of unimpeachable honesty" tightened disciplinary rules for officers and... Read more →
May 05, 2024
Robert Furnas, patriotic Republican Governor of Nebraska
Grand Old Partisan salutes Robert Furnas, born in Ohio, May 5th 1824. Orphaned as a child, the self-made man held occupations including farmer, insurance salesman, postmaster, printer and tinsmith. Age thirty-two, he relocated to Nebraska. [at lower left, with his... Read more →
May 04, 2024
Tyre York, anti-Confederate North Carolinian and Republican Statesman
Grand Old Partisan honors Tyre York, born May 4th 1836. He studied medicine in Charleston then returned to North Carolina. Unsympathetic toward secession, he joined a local militia unit to avoid the fray. Peace restored, York served in both houses... Read more →
May 03, 2024
Donald Trump virtual townhall at the Lincoln Memorial
Grand Old Partisan spotlights a virtual town hall at the Lincoln Memorial. May 3rd 2020, Donald Trump answered questions from Americans. "We never had a more beautiful set than this," he noted. "I am greeted with a hostile press the... Read more →
May 02, 2024
the 1860 Virginia GOP convention
Grand Old Partisan commemorates the 1860 Virginia Republican Convention. Keynoting this event was Francis Blair Jr, whose brother went on to serve in the Lincoln administration Cabinet. Three hundred patriots gathered on May 2nd at Wheeling, then part of the... Read more →
Substack link for Grand Old Partisan
My father, of blessed memory, wrote a book now available on Kindle:
Soldier Boy: a Memoir of Life and Death and Survival during WWII
Back to Basics for the Republican Party
- "We need to promote Back to Basics for the Republican Party to every single proud Republican!!!!"
- "Every precinct committeeman, every candidate and every teacher with a Republican affiliation should read this book and pass it on to another."
- "Michael Zak takes a novel approach to the culture wars by boldly boasting the historical record of the Republican Party. Rather then sheepishly bow to the Democrat's ongoing myths (and frequently, outright lies) about the GOP, he brings the history and heroes of the Republican Party into the fray."
- “Why is it that we Republicans are so easily outmaneuvered by Democrats?
Why do Republicans so readily fight among themselves?
Why is it so difficult for Republicans to advance their policy agenda?
Here's why."
Back to Basics for the Republican Party - “The past is the cause of the present, and the present will be the cause of the future. All these are links in the endless chain stretching from the finite to the infinite.”
Abraham Lincoln - “The Founding Fathers knew a government can't control the economy without controlling people. And they knew when a government sets out to do that, it must use force and coercion to achieve its purpose. So we have come to a time for choosing.”
Ronald Reagan
Speech Raves
- "Your words at the Lincoln Day dinner were truly inspiring. Thank you so much for your dedicated work and contributions to our Party."
- "Your book is outstanding, and it's nice to have the information come alive during your presentation. You are at once informative and motivating. We've got to get back to basics -- as you say."
- "Thank you for speaking at the luncheon. I've already received many favorable comments. You're absolutely right that the Republican leadership should know our party's history."
- "Thanks for all that you do for the Republican Party and our Nation."
- “Your speech was great and just what some of us depressed Republicans needed. The GOP has taken its eye off of the major issue: freedom v. socialism. You spoke to the core of that issue.”
- “Thank you so much for speaking at the state convention. We received wonderful feedback from everyone in attendance. Everyone was impressed with the depth and breadth of your knowledge, as well as your clear speaking style and sense of humor. You made an outstanding presentation, and we are deeply grateful to you for your efforts.”
- “You have a great vision and hope for the Party, and I think you are embarking on important work.”
- “Thank you so much for speaking at our event. You are offering a tremendous service not only to Republicans, but also to the United States and the world.”
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Each day, my Grand Old Partisan blog celebrates more than sixteen decades of Republican heroes and heroics.
event photos
- Michael Zak is a popular speaker to conservative organizations around the nation -- thirty states so far. His message is that Republicans would benefit tremendously from appreciating the heritage of our Grand Old Party.
Book Reviews
- "Your book is a national treasure.I'm always recommending it to people."
- "Thank you, Michael!!! Every person who calls himself a Republican, and every person who just wants to know the truth. should know your book!!!"
- "If you're a Republican and love history, this book by my friend Michael Zak is a must read. And if you happen to be looking for a Lincoln/Reagan Day dinner speaker, I highly recommend him."
- great information on our rich heritage"Get a copy of Michael Zak's book, Back to Basics for the Republican Party"
- "I recommend Back to Basics for the Republican Party to everyone who wants to be educated on the true history of the GOP and America!!!!
- Phenomenal historyAnyone who liked the Lincoln movie will love this book. This book is perhaps the best kept secret in all political and history books in America. It is something every politico should read. It puts things into historical perspective like few other books I've read. It challenges conventional through thorough documented history. This is a must read for any student of American history and political science. One regret is that I read the book more than a decade after it was published. It truly is something you feel you missed out on. It is also a book that leaves you wanting to learn more about certain individuals such as Thaddeus Stevens. It's an incredible body of work."
- "Thank you for writing your book. I am two chapters into it, and find it fascinating and motivating. This may be a very significant contribution to the rise of the GOP in the coming years."
- "I am a believer in pro-free market and pro-constitutional rights who recently purchased your book Back to Basics for the Republican Party and have not been able to put it down. It is simply amazing you composed a book in 2003 that hits home on the most serious of topics we face today. I completely agree that we must educate and focus on the original plan as laid out by the founders of our party if we are ever to move forward in a positive direction."
- Praise from Alaska"I purchased your book at our Juneau, Alaska Republican Women's Luncheon last month principally because the title intrigued me. I just finished it, reading the last chapter three times. I wanted to burn the wisdom presented into my brain. Thank you again for all your hard work to research and write your book. Thank you for all you are doing to educate Americans on the incredible truth of the founding of our great country.""Thank you for doing all the research to write this book. As a History/American Studies major, I THOUGHT I knew the difference between Republicans and Democrats, the roles of Lincoln and Stevens and Sumner and Reagan, and the history of our country from the revolutionary war through the civil war. Boy, was I soooo wrong."
- Read it and MEMORIZE it!"My copy is dog-eared with notes and underlined parts. “Back to Basics for the Republican Party has been tremendously helpful setting mis-educated Democrats straight on history!"
- It's a fantatic buy!“Back to Basics for the Republican Party is very informative and gives you an insight into the history of the party from the early days to the modern day presidencies of Ronald Reagan and George Bush Sr. What the author has done is provide a balanced view, giving the reader a fascinating 150-year journey of the Republicans. This book is a REAL political page turner which will open minds to a wealth of knowledge and history which most are not even aware of.
- “Back to Basics for the Republican Party is the most significant contribution to the Republican Party in the last twenty years apart from Ronald Reagan.”
- “This is the most amazing book about politics that I have ever read. The Overview should be required reading for anyone with even a minor interest in government. The remainder is an enthralling history lesson that I will never forget. For years, we have all been misled about the true nature of the GOP. This is the real deal! Read it and be proud!”
- “Back to Basics for the Republican Party is more important to our party now than ever before.”
- "one of the best books I ever read"
- “Your book, Back to Basics for the Republican Party, is most timely during this 2010 pre-election period. It is a message that needs to be emphasized to all grassroots activists. From the precinct, county, district and national levels your respected views need to be heard and read on how to take back our country.”
- from the first page: “Democrats control most of the media, but they also write most of the history books, thereby controlling what even Republican activists think they know about our Party's glorious heritage.”