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.

saluting John Lodge, from Hollywood Heartthrob to Republican Congressman and Governor and Ambassador

Grand Old Partisan salutes John Lodge, born this day of 1903. Soon after graduating from Harvard Law School, he achieved considerable success in Hollywood. Among his movie roles were playing Marlene Dietrich's lover and Shirley Temple's father. His older brother,... Read more →

honoring Consuelo Bailey, the first woman elected Lieutenant Governor

Grand Old Partisan honors Consuelo Bailey, born in Vermont this day of 1899. Graduating from Boston University School of Law, she became the first woman admitted to practice before the state supreme court. Age twenty-five, she was elected county prosecutor.... Read more →

honoring Charles Russell Train, anti-slavery Republican Congressman

Grand Old Partisan honors George Russell Train, born in Massachusetts this day of 1817. He attended Brown University and Harvard Law School. The young Whig was elected state representative and district attorney. He declined President Millard Fillmore's offer of a... Read more →

appreciating financial wisdom from Richard Nixon

Grand Old Partisan appreciates financial wisdom from Richard Nixon. This day of 1960, the Vice President took his presidential campaign to Connecticut. His common-sense approach is even more relevant to us today: "We tap all the resources of America. We... Read more →

highlighting the first time a Republican presidential nominee campaigned in the South

Grand Old Partisan highlights the first time a Republican presidential nominee campaigned in a southern state. This day of 1908, a very busy William Howard Taft addressed crowds in eleven east Tennessee towns. Starting in Chattanooga, he proceeded to Cleveland,... Read more →

commemorating the seventh Lincoln Douglas debate

Grand Old Partisan commemorates the seventh and final Lincoln-Douglas debate. This day of 1858, the Railsplitter shared a stage with incumbent Senator Stephen Douglas. Six thousand people attended the event, at a park in Alton, Illinois. Contrasting himself with his... Read more →

saluting Andrew Applegate, the first Lieutenant Governor of Alabama

Grand Old Partisan salutes Andrew Applegate, born near Cincinnati this day of 1833. His parents were farmers from Kentucky. He studied law. Democrat nominee Stephen Douglas received his vote in the 1860 presidential election. During the Civil War, Applegate served... Read more →

honoring John Rock, first African-American lawyer to practice before the U.S. Supreme Court

Grand Old Partisan honors John Rock, born in New Jersey this day of 1825. He apprenticed to a dentist. Graduating from the American Medical College in Philadelphia placed him among the nation's first African-American physicians. In 1858, Rock decided to... Read more →

saluting Senator Preston Plumb, "a great man and a great Kansan"

Grand Old Partisan salutes Preston Plumb, born in Ohio this day of 1837. His career began with editing a newspaper. In 1856, he relocated to Kansas in support of anti-slavery activists: "I am going to Kansas and help fight this... Read more →

a Senate Office Building is named for a notorious Democrat Racist

Grand Old Partisan denounces Democrat dishonor. This day of 1972, the Democrat-controlled U.S. Senate named one of its office buildings for a notorious racist, Richard Russell. The resolution had been introduced by a Democrat Klansman, Senator Robert Byrd. Russell filibustered... Read more →

acclaiming William Henry Robertson, civic-minded New York Republican statesman

Grand Old Partisan acclaims William Henry Robertson, born in New York this day of 1823. After studying law, he won terms in both houses of the legislature. His motto was Education for all, Liberty for all. This former Whig joined... Read more →

commemorating the Universal Postal Union

Grand Old Partisan commemorates the Universal Postal Union. One the first international organizations, it established rules for cross-border postal service. This undertaking had originally been brainchild of President Lincoln's Postmaster General, Montgomery Blair. At a conference in Switzerland this day... Read more →

honoring Nathaniel Smithers, the first Republican Congressman from Delaware

Grand Old Partisan honors Nathaniel Smithers, born in Dover this day of 1818. He studied law at Dickinson College. The former Whig was delegate to the 1860 Republican National Convention, then Delaware secretary of state. Delegate to the GOP's 1864... Read more →

re-naming DCA the "Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport"

Grand Old Partisan recalls that on this day of 1997, a Republican congressman introduced a bill to re-name the airport at our nation's capital after the 40th President. The measure would be signed into law four months later. Passed with... Read more →

honoring Clara Cressingham, one of the first three female state legislators

Grand Old Partisan honors Clara Cressingham, born this day of 1863. Her typesetter husband relocated the family, in 1890, from Brooklyn to Denver. In 1894, she won a term in the Colorado state house. Two other Republican women were elected... Read more →

highlighting the first attempt at establishing the Illinois Republican Party

Grand Old Partisan highlights an early attempt to create the Illinois Republican Party. May 1854, Democrats passed a federal law extending slavery into the western territories. Outraged, friends of freedom organized themselves as the Republican Party of Michigan and Wisconsin... Read more →

commemorating the National Equal Rights League

Grand Old Partisan commemorates the National Equal Rights League, our country's first human rights organization. It was established at a National Convention of Colored Citizens, begun in a Syracuse church this day of 1864. One hundred forty-four delegates attended, from... Read more →

saluting Edward Noyes, "noble, chivalrous, honorable" Republican Governor of Ohio

Grand Old Partisan salutes Edward Noyes, born in Massachusetts this day of 1832. Orphaned at age three, he apprenticed to a printer. While an undergraduate at Dartmouth, he co-founded the New Hampshire GOP. Next came studies at the Cincinnati Law... Read more →

honoring Jennette Bradley, first African-American Woman to be Lieutenant Governor

Grand Old Partisan honors Jennette Bradley, born in Ohio this day of 1952. After earning a bachelors degree in psychology, she worked for the Columbus metropolitan housing authority. Age twenty-eight, this rising star became its executive director. She would later... Read more →

honoring Michel Vidal, from France and the Republic of Texas to Louisiana Republican Congressman

Grand Old Partisan honors Michel Vidal, born in France this day of 1824. Completing university studies, he emigrated to the Republic of Texas. Two years, he travelled in the United States and Canada before settling among Louisiana's French-speaking community. Vidal... Read more →

honoring John Forney, publisher of the Lincoln administration's newspaper

Grand Old Partisan honors John Forney, born in Pennsylvania this day of 1817. Merging two regional newspapers made him a national media figure. In 1851, the U.S. House of Representatives named him its clerk. He helped James Buchanan secure the... Read more →

Democrat Governor enforces Racial Segregation

Grand Old Partisan denounces Democrat depravity. This day of 1963, George Wallace, the Democrat Governor of Alabama, defied a federal court order admitting African-American students to Tuskegee High School. He sent one hundred National Guardsmen to keep them out. Judge... Read more →

lauding Sarah Josepha Hale, the "Mother of Thanksgiving"

Grand Old Partisan lauds Sarah Josepha Hale, trendsetter extraordinaire. She started off as a school teacher in New Hampshire, and her anti-slavery novel Life North and South made her famous. Forty years, she edited a highly influential women's magazine. Among... Read more →

saluting Kentucky Congressman James Jackson — "With his heart’s blood he has sealed his devotion to the flag"

Grand Old Partisan salutes James Jackson, born in Kentucky this day of 1823. He studied law at Transylvania University and was a lieutenant during the Mexican War. In 1860, he won election to the U.S. House of Representatives, as a... Read more →

saluting Stephen Elkins – New Mexico Congressman and Secretary of War and West Virginia Senator

"an honest and successful legislator, a shrewd politician, and a high-minded public servant" Grand Old Partisan salutes Stephen Elkins, born this day of 1841. He relocated with his family as a child from Ohio to Missouri and attended the state... Read more →

honoring Miguel Estrada, filibustered Hispanic Republican

Grand Old Partisan honors Miguel Estrada, born in Honduras this day of 1961. Arriving in the United States at age seventeen, he graduated with honors from Columbia University and Harvard Law School. The legal prodigy went on to clerk for... Read more →

Republicans established the first National Monument, at Devils Tower

Grand Old Partisan appreciates Republican dedication to environmental conservation. This day of 1906, Theodore Roosevelt issued the first proclamation declaring a national monument. The site was Devils Tower in Wyoming. The President took this action under authority of the Antiquities... Read more →

honoring Elihu Washburne – "a man of courage, energy and principle, devoted to the Republican Party"

Grand Old Partisan honors Elihu Washburne, born in Maine this day of 1817. He started out as a printer's apprentice and then assistant editor of a newspaper. Graduating from Harvard Law School, he moved to Illinois. In 1852, four years... Read more →

honoring George Washington Murray, early African-American Republican Congressman

Grand Old Partisan honors George Washington Murray, born a slave on September 22, 1853. Once emancipated, he learned to read and write, then taught school. He attended the University of South Carolina until Democrats expelled all its African-American students and... Read more →

saluting James Madison Harvey, beloved Kansas Republican "Pioneer, Soldier, Statesman"

Grand Old Partisan salutes James Madison Harvey, born in southwest Virginia this day of 1833. He drifted west — Indiana, Illinois, Iowa, Colorado — before settling down in Kansas and buying a farm. During the Civil War, this young Republican... Read more →

Antonin Scalia defending the Constitution as a "legal text"

Grand Old Partisan reminisces about a great Supreme Court Justice. This day of 2011, Antonin Scalia keynoted an event at the American Enterprise Institute. He denounced a doctrine, prevalent since the Warren Court, that the U.S. Constitution is merely a... Read more →

appreciating the Tuskegee Institute

Grand Old Partisan appreciates the Tuskegee Institute. With thirty African-American students, classes began there this day of 1881. The only classroom was a decrepit shack. The first teacher was Republican civil rights activist Booker T. Washington. His thirty-four year tenure... Read more →

commemorating Operation Enduring Freedom

Grand Old Partisan commemorates Operation Enduring Freedom. This day of 2001, the 'Authorization for Use of Military Force' was signed into law. Congress had passed it in response to the terrorism of September 11th. George W. Bush was empowered to... Read more →

honoring John Brough, tireless War Governor of Ohio

"patriotic, far-sighted, clear in his convictions of duty, firm in their maintenance, and fearless in their execution" Grand Old Partisan honors John Brough, born this day of 1811. Apprenticed to a printer when his parents died, he later studied at... Read more →

saluting Clement Sinnickson, patriotic New Jersey Republican Congressman

Grand Old Partisan salutes Clement Sinnickson, born this day of 1834. He attended Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute and Union College, then studied law. Outbreak of civil war, he enlisted as captain of Company I, 4th New Jersey Infantry. In 1874, Sinnickson... Read more →

commemorating the third Lincoln–Douglas debate

Grand Old Partisan commemorates the third Lincoln-Douglas debate. This day of 1858, the Railsplitter shared a stage with incumbent Senator Stephen Douglas. One thousand five hundred people attended the event at Jonesboro, in southern Illinois. Contrasting himself with his pro-slavery... Read more →

celebrating National Hispanic Heritage Month

Grand Old Partisan appreciates Republican respect for our multi-ethnic cultural fabric. This day of 1989, President George H. Bush issued the proclamation establishing National Hispanic Heritage Month: Ever since Hispanic explorers discovered the vast, uncharted territory of the New World... Read more →

Democrats gonna Democrat — Klansmen parade in DC

Grand Old Partisan laments the Ku Klux Klan's second March on Washington. It occurred this day in 1926. Led by Democrat activist Hiram Evans, thousands of racists marched along Pennsylvania Avenue. They were celebrating their terrorist organization's resurgence fifty years... Read more →

honoring Alice Wells, the first Female Police Officer

Grand Old Partisan honors Alice Wells, the nation's first female police officer. Born in 1873, she attended Oberlin College and Hartford Theological Seminary. This day of 1910, the Republican mayor of Los Angeles hired her. There had been police matrons,... Read more →

honoring Charles Scrutchin, heroic African-American Republican attorney

Grand Old Partisan honors Charles Scrutchin, born in Richmond this day of 1866. He grew up in Atlanta and Spokane. After graduating from the University of Washington, limited employment opportunities forced him to work as a Pullman porter and hotel... Read more →

honoring Mary Booze, the first African-American Republican National Committeewoman

Grand Old Partisan honors Mary Booze, daughter of former slaves. This day of 1924, she became the GOP's first African-American Republican National Committeewoman. Her father, a Mississippi cotton farmer, was a political ally of Booker T. Washington. She attended college... Read more →

honoring Robert Emmet, keynote speaker at the first Republican National Convention

Grand Old Partisan honors Robert Emmet, born in Dublin this day of 1792. He arrived with his family in New York at age twelve. His uncle and namesake was the famous Irish rebel executed by the British. Emmet studied at... Read more →

saluting Henry Baxter, valiant son of a Michigan Republican pioneer

Grand Old Partisan salutes Henry Baxter, born this day of 1821. The young man led a wagon train of 49ers to California. Returning to Michigan after three years, he operated a grain mill. His father, Levi, gaveled to order that... Read more →

President Lincoln praises the Bible

Grand Old Partisan appreciates Republican reverence for religion. This day of 1864, a delegation representing 'Loyal Colored People of Baltimore' met with Abraham Lincoln at the White House. They thanked him for emancipation and presented him with a Bible. "MR.... Read more →

commemorating the first election in which women could vote — thanks to the GOP

Grand Old Partisan commemorates the first election in which women could vote in the United States.* It was this day of 1870, when Wyoming selected its congressional delegate and county officials. The territory's Female Suffrage Act had been signed into... Read more →

honoring William Newell, the first Republican Governor of New Jersey

Grand Old Partisan honors William Newell, born this day of 1817. The young Whig attended Rutgers College and the University of Pennsylvania Medical School. In 1846, he won the first of two terms in the U.S. House of Representatives. His... Read more →

honoring Benjamin French, a DC delegate to the first Republican National Convention

Grand Old Partisan honors Benjamin French, born in New Hampshire this day of 1800. Age thirty-two, the former state legislator was hired as Assistant Clerk of the U.S. House of Representatives. Promotion to Clerk came during the Polk administration. From... Read more →

commemorating the Southern Loyalists Convention

Grand Old Partisan commemorates the Southern Loyalists Convention. This day of 1866, four hundred delegates gathered at Independence Hall in Philadelphia. They came from the eleven former Confederate states plus Missouri, Kentucky, West Virginia, Maryland and Delaware. These patriots were... Read more →

honoring William Abijah White, the first Chairman of the Wisconsin Republican Party

Grand Old Partisan honors William Abijah White, born to a prominent Massachusetts family this day of 1818. He edited several newspapers after graduating from Harvard. In his twenties, the gifted orator became a popular anti-slavery speaker. At one event he... Read more →

saluting Daniel James, the Air Force's first African-American Four-Star General

"This is my country and I believe in her, and I will serve her, and I'll contribute to her welfare whenever and however I can. If she has any ills, I'll stand by her until in God's given time, through... Read more →