Grand Old Partisan salutes William Thompson, born near Pittsburgh, January 17th 1830. After studying law, the ambitious youth relocated to Iowa. He was elected county prosecutor, then state senator. During the Civil War, Thompson commanded a regiment in Missouri and... Read more →
January 17, 2022
January 16, 2022
Michael Shiner wrote the earliest known diary by an African-American resident of Washington, DC
Grand Old Partisan honors Michael Shiner, born on a Maryland slave plantation in 1805. The child witnessed the British invasion of Washington, DC. He later worked at the Washington Navy Yard, staying on after his master freed him at age... Read more →
January 15, 2022
the US-China Trade Agreement
Grand Old Partisan appreciates Republican resolve to protect the nation. January 15th 2020, Donald Trump signed a trade deal with China. Said the President, the world’s two largest economies were "righting the wrongs of the past and delivering a future... Read more →
January 14, 2022
John Edie, early Pennsylvania Republican Congressman and valiant Civil War Colonel
Grand Old Partisan salutes John Edie, born in Gettysburg, Pennsylvania, on January 14th 1814. He was an elementary school principal, then studied law. While a state legislator, he was appointed deputy attorney general. In 1854, as an anti-slavery independent, Edie... Read more →
January 13, 2022
Isaac Myers, trailblazing Black trade unionist
Grand Old Partisan honors Isaac Myers, born in Maryland, January 13th 1835. His parents were free Blacks. His profession was ship caulker. After the Civil War, the return of military veterans cost many Black caulkers their jobs. In response, he... Read more →
January 12, 2022
Thaddeus Stevens Pfeiffer, martyred namesake of a Republican Hero
Grand Old Partisan salutes Thaddeus Stevens Pfeiffer, born in Pennsylvania, January 12th 1840. His father named him for close friend Thaddeus Stevens, the heroic Republican Congressman. Outbreak of civil war, Pfeiffer recruited a company of volunteers and enlisted as their... Read more →
January 11, 2022
John Kasson, distinguished Republican Congressman and Diplomat
Grand Old Partisan honors John Kasson, born January 11th 1822. He attended the University of Vermont, then studied law. Visits to Virginia opened his eyes to the evils of slavery. In 1848, his love of liberty led him out of... Read more →
January 10, 2022
origin of the Capitol Hill Club
Grand Old Partisan spotlights the Capitol Hill Club. This national social club for Republicans was the brainchild of a New Jersey Congressman. James Auchincloss brought together one hundred founding members from twenty-two states. The club was incorporated on January 10th... Read more →
January 09, 2022
Julius Caesar Burrows – "one of the able men who honor the State and Nation"
Grand Old Partisan salutes Julius Caesar Burrows, born January 9th 1837. His parents were farmers and abolitionists. He settled in Kalamazoo after studying law. Burrows campaigned for the GOP’s 1856 and 1860 presidential nominees. During the Civil War, he recruited... Read more →
January 08, 2022
No Child Left Behind
Grand Old Partisan appreciates Republican commitment to educational opportunities for all Americans. Three days after taking office, President George W. Bush declared that bipartisan education reform would be "the cornerstone" of his administration. He lamented that "too many of our... Read more →
January 07, 2022
Claude Kirk, the first Republican Governor of Florida since Reconstruction
Grand Old Partisan salutes Claude Kirk, born January 7th 1926. Childhood took him from California to Illinois to Alabama. He served in the Marine Corps during WWII and Korean War. Law studies were at the University of Alabama. Kirk prospered... Read more →
January 06, 2022
John Gray, the last surviving Revolutionary War veteran, became a Republican
Grand Old Partisan salutes John Gray, born near Mount Vernon, Virginia on January 6th 1764. Age sixteen, he enlisted in the Continental Army and fought at the Battle of Yorktown. Independence won, he moved to Ohio. Ardently opposed to slavery,... Read more →
January 05, 2022
Republicans chartered the Red Cross
Grand Old Partisan appreciates the American Red Cross. Clara Barton founded the organization in 1881 and led it more than twenty years. Toward the end of her tenure, bureaucratic mismanagement gave rise to the need for a more professional structure.... Read more →
January 04, 2022
Verplanck Colvin – “American Wilderness Surveyor and Savior”
Grand Old Partisan honors Verplanck Colvin, born in Albany, January 4th 1847. Educated professionally as a real estate lawyer, he studied geology on his own. Age twenty-three, he garnered national renown with denunciations of ecological devastation in the Adirondack Mountains.... Read more →
January 03, 2022
Thaddeus Stevens demanding Republican Reconstruction of Southern States
Grand Old Partisan cherishes the legacy of one of the greatest Republicans who ever lived. Thaddeus Stevens was the most powerful Member of Congress during the Civil War. Peace restored, he expressed outrage that the Democrat President, Andrew Johnson, had... Read more →
My father, of blessed memory, wrote a book now available on Kindle:
Soldier Boy: a Memoir of Life and Death and Survival during WWII
e-mail to Michael Zak
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.”
grand_old_partisan@hotmail.com
I am offering the solution to a problem most Republicans don't know they have -- that they can be outmaneuvered and thrown on the defensive endlessly, on nearly any issue, because they accept as true Democrat lies about the Republican Party. To correct that misperception and to help the Republican Party get 'back to basics' is why I'm a man on a mission.
A few years ago, after one of my speeches, a man told me "Do you know what your problem is? You're too far ahead of your time!" My efforts to show Republicans how they would benefit from celebrating the heritage of our Grand Old Party have been arduous, but if this were easy someone else would have already done it.
Among my speech topics are Reconciling the Tea Party and the GOP; Barack Obama, the Worst President Ever; Socialism, the new Slavery; Appreciating the Heritage of our Grand Old Party; Returning to the Founding Principles of the United States; The Women’s Rights Achievements of our Grand Old Party; Abraham Lincoln, Republican; Frederick Douglass, Republican; Martin Luther King and the Republican Civil Rights Legacy.
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.”