Grand Old Partisan

Obama the Destroyer

After the polls closed on election night 2008, I was answering the phone at the McCain/Palin national campaign office. A woman called to say she was “now glad to have a terminal disease because [she] won't live to see how Obama will destroy this great country.” The pain and rage and sorrow in her voice came through loud and clear.

Ma'am, whoever and wherever you are, I salute you.

Michael Zak, author of Back to Basics for the Republican Party, also wrote the often-copied, never-cited 2005 Republican Freedom Calendar. Each day, his Grand Old Partisan blog celebrates more than sixteen decades of Republican heritage. And, see Speech Raves for audience feedback from his presentations in thirty-one states so far.

honoring Ferdinand Barnett, pioneering African-African Republican Attorney

Grand Old Partisan honors Ferdinand Barnett, born in Nashville this day of 1852. After purchasing the child's freedom, his parents relocated the family to Canada. They returned after the Civil War, settling in Chicago. The ambitious young man attended a... Read more →

John Willis Menard, the first African-American elected to Congress

"a man of brilliant intellect and great ability" Grand Old Partisan salutes John Willis Menard, born in Illinois this day of 1838. He attended an Ohio college open to African-American students. During the Civil War, he served as steward at... Read more →

Sonny Bono, from Entertainer to Republican Congressman

Grand Old Partisan applauds Salvatore "Sonny" Bono, born in Detroit this day of 1935. He rose to fame as a songwriter, singer and actor. His turn to politics started from dealing with burdensome regulation and taxation of his restaurant in... Read more →

Elihu Root, accomplished Republican Statesman

Grand Old Partisan appreciates Elihu Root, born in upstate New York this day of 1845. After attending Hamilton College and New York University School of Law, he built up a successful legal practice with varied prominent clients. President Chester Arthur... Read more →

Ben Blaz, exemplary Marine Corp General and Guam Republican Congressman

Grand Old Partisan salutes Vicente Tomás (Ben) Blaz, born on Guam this day of 1928. The teenager did three years forced labor under Japanese occupation during WWII. Peace restored, the University of Notre Dame provided him a scholarship. After graduating... Read more →

the 1925 Judiciary Act

Grand Old Partisan commemorates the Judiciary Act of 1925. The law was passed by the GOP-controlled 68th Congress and signed by President Calvin Coolidge on this day that year. All sorts of cases, whether significant or not, were automatically appealable... Read more →

Myra Blackwell, pioneering Republican Attorney

Grand Old Partisan honors Myra Blackwell, born in Vermont this day of 1831. She relocated to Illinois with her family at age twelve and received a good education. During the Civil War, she fundraised for the Union cause. Peace restored,... Read more →

Jonathan Wright, the first African-American on a State Supreme Court

Grand Old Partisan lauds Jonathan Wright, born near Scranton this day of 1840. He studied law after graduating from a local college. He attended a National Convention of Colored Men, chaired by Frederick Douglass. April 1865, the American Missionary Society... Read more →

Albert Comstock Hamlin, the first African-American in the Oklahoma Legislature

Grand Old Partisan honors Albert Comstock Hamlin, born in Kansas this day of 1881. His parents had been slaves. He settled in Oklahoma as a child and worked the family farm. The young Republican served on his township council and... Read more →

Republicans established the National Weather Service

Grand Old Partisan appreciates Republican commitment to technological advancement. This day of 1870, President Ulysses Grant signed legislation directing the War Department to make meteorological observations around the country. The bill had been written by Republican Representative Halbert Paine and... Read more →

Austin Blair, the War Governor of Michigan

Grand Old Partisan honors Austin Blair, born in upstate New York this day of 1818. He worked the family farm, then attended local colleges. After passing the bar, the ambitious Whig relocated to Michigan. His political career began with election... Read more →

Joseph Simon, the first Jewish Republican Senator

Grand Old Partisan honors Joseph Simon, born in Germany this day of 1851. He emigrated to the United States as a baby with his family, settling at Portland, Oregon. The ambitious Republican studied law and served on the city council.... Read more →

the Last Photograph of Ronald Reagan

Grand Old Partisan highlights the last known photograph of Ronald Reagan. It depicts him and wife Nancy kissing, on his 89th birthday, this day of 2000. I had the honor of being among those who applauded Nancy Reagan as the... Read more →

Minnie Cox, the first African-American Woman to be a Postmaster

Grand Old Partisan honors Minnie Cox, born in Mississippi this day of 1869. She taught school after graduating from Fisk University. She also was a Republican Party activist. In 1891, President Benjamin Harrison appointed Cox postmaster at Indianola. President William... Read more →

the origin of the Connecticut Republican Party

Grand Old Partisan spotlights the origin of the Connecticut Republican Party. This day of 1856, pro-freedom newspaper editors met in Hartford at the law office of Joseph Hawley, a prominent Free Soil party activist. They made plans for establishing a... Read more →

Abraham Lincoln and the King of Siam and some Elephants

Grand Old Partisan commemorates an amusing event in Thai-American relations. This day of 1862, President Abraham Lincoln somehow found time to write a letter to King Mongkut. After learning that there were no elephants in the United States, Monghut had... Read more →

the Iditarod Serum Run, organized by a Republican Governor

Grand Old Partisan praises a Territorial Governor of Alaska. Scott Bone, appointed by President Warren Harding, was in office during the diphtheria outbreak at Nome, an isolated northern town. Antitoxin was urgently required, but the nearest supplies were nearly seven... Read more →

Ernest Wilkins, first African-American to be Assistant Secretary in a presidential Cabinet

Grand Old Partisan honors Ernest Wilkins, born this day of 1894. He studied mathematics at the University of Illinois and law at the University of Chicago. Republicans nominated him for judge. Dwight Eisenhower named him co-chairman of a committee against... Read more →

William B. Washburn, early Massachusetts Republican Statesman

Grand Old Partisan honors William B. Washburn, born this day of 1820. His was a renowned family of anti-slavery activists who contributed to the formation of the Republican Party in several states. After three years clerking at a store, he... Read more →

John Taffe, early Nebraska Republican Congressman

Grand Old Partisan salutes John Taffe, born in Indianapolis this day of 1827. He taught school and studied law, then relocated to Omaha at age twenty-nine. The young Republican won several terms in the territorial legislature and edited a newspaper.... Read more →

Republicans and their Petition for Universal Suffrage

Grand Old Partisan commends Republican respect for women. This day of 1866, GOP leader Thaddeus Stevens presented in the House of Representatives a petition for extending voting rights to women. The first page was signed by Elizabeth Cady Stanton, Susan... Read more →

George Boutwell, recovering Democrat who co-founded the Massachusetts GOP

"The Republican Party may safely challenge all nations, all times and all history for a parallel of its successes." Grand Old Partisan honors George Boutwell, born near Boston this day of 1818. The former Democrat governor left the Party of... Read more →

a Republican was the First President to Address the National Association of Manufacturers

Grand Old Partisan spotlights Republican commitment to promoting economic growth. This day of 1898, William McKinley made a speech at the National Association of Manufacturers annual meeting. He was the first president to do so. Addressing a thousand businessmen at... Read more →

the Democrats Legalized Slavery in New Mexico

Grand Old Partisan denounces Democrat devilry. This day of 1859, the Democrat Governor of New Mexico Territory signed into law a bill passed by the Democrat-controlled legislature. Known as An Act for the Protection of Property in Slaves, it legalized... Read more →

Republicans know that School Choice is Educational Emancipation

Grand Old Partisan highlights the GOP's dedication to freeing students from Democrat shackles. This day of 2001, the U.S. Senate Republican Policy Committee declared school choice to be "Educational Emancipation". Here is a Video Version of this article on YouTube:... Read more →

Moses Kinkaid, one of Nebraska's greatest benefactors

Grand Old Partisan lauds Moses Kinkaid, born in what is now West Virginia this day of 1856. He graduated from University of Michigan Law School and eventually settled in Nebraska. The ambitious Republican became a state senator and judge. In... Read more →

President Trump is Saving the Lives of Babies Overseas

Grand Old Partisan appreciates Republican respect for human life. This day of 2017, President Donald Trump signed an executive order to ban government funding of foreign pro-abortion groups. It was his fourth day in office. President Ronald Reagan had enacted... Read more →

Morton Wilkinson, the first Republican Senator from Minnesota

Grand Old Partisan honors Morton Wilkinson, born in upstate New York this day of 1819. After working for a railroad, he studied law and relocated to frontier Minnesota. He later served in the territorial legislature and helped write a legal... Read more →

John Bingham, early Republican Congressman and Principal Author of the Fourteenth Amendment

Grand Old Partisan salutes John Bingham, born this day of 1815. Age twelve, he moved from Pennsylvania to Ohio. There, he apprenticed to a printer and studied law. The state's first African-American college graduate was a life-long friend. Bingham campaigned... Read more →

a Republican was the First Woman to Testify before Congress

Grand Old Partisan appreciates Republican Senator James Harlan inviting Elizabeth Cady Stanton to address his Committee on the District of Columbia. This day of 1869, she became the first woman to testify before Congress. Speaking on behalf of the Women's... Read more →

John Broomall, exemplary Pennsylvania Republican Activist and Congressman

Grand Old Partisan salutes John Broomall, born near Philadelphia this day of 1816. He taught school and studied law under supervision of a former congressman. A Whig state administration named him deputy attorney general. This was followed by a term... Read more →

the Republican Party — "exponent of honor, of liberty, of enlightenment, of progress, and of humanity"

Grand Old Partisan highlights a classic appreciation of the Republican Party. This day of 1904, Speaker of the House Joseph Cannon declared: "The Republican Party is constructed on the principle laid down by Abraham Lincoln that this is 'a government... Read more →

the DCGOP helped establish the Republican Party throughout the United States

Grand Old Partisan spotlights the DCGOP's critical role in establishing the Republican Party nationwide. This day of 1856, the Republican Association of Washington issued a CIRCULAR TO THE FRIENDS OF THE REPUBLICAN MOVEMENT THROUGHOUT THE UNITED STATES. These patriots addressed... Read more →

Ralza Manly, compassionate Virginia Republican Educator

Grand Old Partisan salutes Ralza Manly, born in Vermont this day of 1822. Graduating from Wesleyan University, he became a Methodist Episcopal minister and teacher. During the Civil War, he enlisted as chaplain for the 16th Regiment New Hampshire Volunteer... Read more →

Ozora Stearns, resolute Minnesota Republican Soldier and Mayor and Senator and Judge

Grand Old Partisan salutes Ozora Stearns, born in upstate New York this day of 1831. He studied at Oberlin College and the University of Michigan Law Department, then was elected county prosecutor. Outbreak of civil war, Stearns enlisted as an... Read more →

President Richard Nixon gave the National Cathedral its Moon Rock

Grand Old Partisan admires the Space Window at the National Cathedral. Its stars and planets attest to mankind's spiritual connection with the cosmos. Prominent in this magnificent stained glass work of art is a moon rock – an actual piece... Read more →

Seth Ledyard Phelps – "a man of remarkable executive ability, in every fiber a man"

Grand Old Partisan salutes Seth Ledyard Phelps, born in Ohio this day of 1824. Midshipman at age seventeen, he served aboard a ship patrolling the African coast to suppress the slave trade. Other naval deployments included the Mexican War and... Read more →

a Lincoln administration effort to protect emancipated slaves from Democrats

Grand Old Partisan spotlights a Republican effort to defend African-Americans from Democrats. This day of 1865, Secretary of War Edwin Stanton met with General William Sherman. President Abraham Lincoln had sent him to Georgia for discussions on the plight of... Read more →

Ronald Reagan's magnificent Farewell Address

Grand Old Partisan highlights Ronald Reagan's Farewell Address. This day of 1989, he spoke to the nation from the Oval Office for the thirty-fourth and last time. The President emphasized his triumphs at proving economic growth and restoring American morale:... Read more →

Congressman Abraham Lincoln introduced a bill to Abolish Slavery in Washington, DC

Grand Old Partisan commemorates an important step toward emancipation. This day of 1849, Representative Abraham Lincoln introduced a bill to abolish slavery in the nation's capital. It was immediately tabled and never voted on, due to ferocious opposition from Democrats.... Read more →

John Usher, early Indiana Republican statesman

Grand Old Partisan honors John Usher, born in upstate New York this day of 1816. He studied law, then moved to Terre Haute. He became acquainted with Abraham Lincoln on the Illinois legal circuit. An early member of the Whig... Read more →

Eliphalet Trask, the first Republican Lieutenant Governor of Massachusetts

Grand Old Partisan honors Eliphalet Trask, born in Massachusetts this day of 1806. His occupation was proprietor of an iron foundry. He entered politics on the Springfield town council, and would be elected mayor. Several terms in the state house... Read more →

James Madison Wells, the first Republican Lieutenant Governor of Louisiana

Grand Old Partisan salutes James Madison Wells, born in Louisiana this day of 1808. He studied in Connecticut and Kentucky and at Cincinnati Law School, before returning home to manage the family plantations. Years later, a Whig governor appointed him... Read more →

Charles Sumner, heroic Massachusetts Republican Senator

Grand Old Partisan honors Charles Sumner, born in Boston this day of 1811. This skilled orator graduated from Harvard Law School. He is one of four heroes on the cover of Back to Basics for the Republican Party. In 1851,... Read more →

Wyoming was named by a Republican Congressman

Grand Old Partisan spotlights a Republican contribution to what would become the Equality State. This day of 1865, Representative James Ashley introduced legislation to establish a territorial government for the area south of Montana and north of Colorado. He proposed... Read more →

Maureen Reagan, fiery First Daughter

Grand Old Partisan honors Maureen Reagan, born in Los Angeles this day of 1941. Her parents were Ronald Reagan and his first wife, Jane Wyman. Beginning with Dwight Eisenhower's first election, Reagan enthusiastically campaigned for Republican candidates around the country.... Read more →

Republicans voted against making a Democrat Klansman third-in-line for the Presidency

Grand Old Partisan denounces Democrat devilry. This day of 2007, Slavery Party Senators voted unanimously for elevating Robert Byrd to President pro tempore of the United States Senate. This made a Ku Klux Klan recruiter third-in-line for the presidency. In... Read more →

Oscar Micheaux, the "Czar of Black Hollywood"

Grand Old Partisan applauds Oscar Devereaux Micheaux, born in southern Illinois this day of 1884. His parents had been slaves in Kentucky. Age seventeen, he left the family farm for Chicago and became a Pullman train porter. Later, he farmed... Read more →

a REPUBLICAN President signed the Emancipation Proclamation

Grand Old Partisan celebrates the Republican Party's Emancipation Proclamation. It went into effect on New Year's Day 1863. President Abraham Lincoln observed: "I never in my life felt more certain that I was doing right than I do in signing... Read more →

Richard Field, a Republican Senator and Federal Judge and Big Fan of Abraham Lincoln

Grand Old Partisan honors Richard Field, born this day of 1803. After two terms in the New Jersey house of representatives, he was named attorney general by the Whig governor. He later returned to his alma mater, Princeton University, as... Read more →