Grand Old Partisan

Grand Old Partisan celebrates more than seventeen decades of Republican heroes and heroics. Today, I honor Waitman Willey, born in Virginia, October 18th 1811. Overcoming extreme poverty, he earned a college degree and studied law. He was presidential elector for the 1840 Whig ticket, then congressional nominee. This "universally esteemed" orator asserted the rights of western Virginians. They knew him to be ""man of fine attainments, extensive reading, and high moral character; a bold thinker." Willey voted a vehement NO at the state's secessionist convention. Patriots established an administration loyal to the federal government and elected him a U.S. Senator. Congress recognized the 'Restored Government of Virginia' and seated him.  West Virginia having entered the Union, in August 1863 Willey was elected one of the state's first two Senators. Re-elected as a Republican, he was delegate to the GOP's 1876 national convention. ...

Grand Old Partisan celebrates more than seventeen decades of Republican heroes and heroics. Today, I spotlight foreign leaders gifting elephants to Republican presidents. October 12th 1959, Dwight Eisenhower received a 440-pound pachyderm from the Congolese prime minister. The appreciative President described it as "a unique form of admiration, liking, and respect for the people of America." He explained that "the baby elephant, I understand, is on its way here now, and I shall have to find for it a home in one of our zoos.” Dzimbo had a long life at the National Zoo. June 1984, on a state visit, J. R. Jayewardene gifted an orphaned elephant to Ronald Reagan . Jayathu also found a home at the National Zoo. Sadly, it died of a disease contracted while still in Sri Lanka. And then there was the King of Siam’s offer to send Abraham Lincoln a herd of elephants , which the President graciously declined. This incident did re...

Grand Old Partisan celebrates more than seventeen decades of Republican heroes and heroics. Today, I acclaim Republican opposition to the Ku Klux Klan. In southern states after the Civil War, the KKK and other Democrat terrorist organizations murdered thousands of African-Americans and also white Republicans. Violence was especially horrific in South Carolina. Ulysses Grant warned that the state was "under the domination of systematic and organized depravity" and a "carnival of crime not paralleled in the history of any civilized community." An effective countermeasure was the GOP’s 1871 Civil Rights Act. October 17th , the President used this authorization to declare martial law in nine counties and suspend habeas corpus there. Federal authorities arrested thousands of Democrat thugs, including six hundred Klansmen. This ended what amounted to an insurgency. Tragically, however, Slavery Party mayhem continued throughout the form...

Grand Old Partisan celebrates more than seventeen decades of Republican heroes and heroics. Today, I honor Isaac Murphy, born October 16th 1799. After several years practicing law in Pennsylvania, he relocated to Tennessee. There, his father-in-law disowned him for opposing slavery. Th e couple settled in Arkansas. With civil war looming, Murphy was elected delegate to a state convention and cast the only vote against secession. A patriotic woman tossed him a floral bouquet. He soon fled to northwest Arkansas, a Unionist stronghold. U.S. troops captured Little Rock in September 1863. President Lincoln authorized anti-Confederate Arkansans to form a new government, and Murphy was elected Governor. He upheld the Union and, after fighting ceased, avoided recriminations against former rebels. His motto: "Industry, Education and Christian morality are the pillars of freedom." Remaining in office until July 1868, Governor Murphy lef...

Grand Old Partisan celebrates more than seventeen decades of Republican heroes and heroics. Today, I salute Theodore Van Buren Coupland, born in Alabama, October 16th 1836. He relocated to Texas as a youth. Outbreak of civil war, the patriot escaped to Union-held territory and was commissioned major with the 1st (U.S.) Texas Cavalry. Coupland married the niece of a Republican governor. He served as customs collector at New Orleans for several GOP administrations. Later, back in Texas, he was county sheriff and federal court deputy clerk. The town of Coupland is named for him. Back to Basics for the Republican Party is my civil rights history of the GOP. To quote the book: "The more we Republicans know about the history of our party, the more Democrats will worry about the future of theirs. For more information, see www.grandoldpartisan.com .  Here is a YouTube Video about this article. Here is an Instagram Video about...

Grand Old Partisan celebrates more than seventeen decades of Republican heroes and heroics. Today, I highlight Republican respect for our nation’s heritage. October 15th 1924, President Calvin Coolidge declared the Statue of Liberty to be a national monument. His proclamation cited the Antiquities Act, passed by the GOP-controlled 59th Congress.  "I, Calvin Coolidge, President of the United States of America, under authority of the said Act of Congress do hereby declare and proclaim the hereinafter designated areas with the historic structures and objects thereto appertaining, and any other object or objects specifically designated, within the following military reservations to be national monuments: FORT WOOD, NEW YORK  The site of the Statue of Liberty Enlightening the World , the foundations of which are built in the form of an eleven-pointed star and clearly define the area comprising about two and one-half acres." ...