Grand Old Partisan

Grand Old Partisan celebrates more than seventeen decades of Republican heroes and heroics. Today, I honor Benjamin Franklin Conley, born March 1st 1815. He prospered in business after relocating from New Jersey to Georgia at age fifteen. Twelve years he was Augusta city councilman, then mayor from 1857 to 1859. Conley opposed secession and during the Civil War refused to support the Confederacy. This resolute Republican was elected to the 1867 constitutional convention, followed by the state senate. Having been named senate president, he became Governor for two months when the incumbent resigned. President Ulysses Grant appointed him postmaster of Atlanta. 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 ...

Grand Old Partisan celebrates more than seventeen decades of Republican heroes and heroics. Today, I admire Union Station in Washington, DC. February 28th 1903, President Theodore Roosevelt signed into law authorization for the city's various railroads to unify their tracks within a central station. It was to be "monumental in character" and constructed in the Swampoodle neighborhood near the Capitol Building. Thanks to leadership by Republican Senator James McMillan, the GOP-controlled 57th Congress passed the bill, despite strong Democrat opposition. Financing would be provided by bond sales. Service began in 1907, and facilities were completed the following year. 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...

Grand Old Partisan celebrates more than seventeen decades of Republican heroes and heroics. Today, I salute Kenneth Wherry, born in Nebraska, February 28th 1892. After attending the state university and Harvard Business School, he served in the Navy Flying Corps during WWI. Returning home, this go-getter was salesman and rancher and undertaker and attorney. Wherry entered politics as town councilman, then mayor, then state senator. He later chaired the state GOP. In 1942, he won election to the U.S. Senate and rose to Minority Leader. General Eisenhower invited him to witness evidence of Nazi atrocities. Wherry denounced "creeping socialism" of the Truman administration. Cancer struck him down partway through his second term. He was eulogized as "a valiant fighter for the American way of life." Back to Basics for the Republican Party  is my civil rights history of the GOP. To quote the book: "The more we Republicans know abo...

Grand Old Partisan celebrates more than seventeen decades of Republican heroes and heroics. Today, I spotlight one of the most important photographs in American history. Abraham Lincoln claimed it helped make him President. Page 34 of  Back to Basics for the Republican Party   explains: "Contention for the Republican presidential nomination already underway, Lincoln traveled to New York City, February 27th 1860, to deliver a major address at the Cooper Union. Calmly, logically and convincingly, he demolished the Democrat position on slavery by outlining the history of the crisis from the very origins of the country." Earlier that day, Lincoln had visited a photography studio. There, the renowned Mathew Brady made a classic portrait that would be published throughout the country. It depicted the relatively unknown lawyer as the wise and dignified statesman he truly was. The column symbolized strength and the books, knowledge. Back to Basics for the Rep...

Grand Old Partisan celebrates more than seventeen decades of Republican heroes and heroics. Today, I laud John Locke Scripps, born in Missouri, February 27th 1818. He practiced law before co-founding the Chicago Tribune and working as chief editor. His political allegiance was to the anti-slavery Free Soil Party until the Republican Party emerged. During the 1860 presidential campaign, Scripps published a sixteen thousand word biography of Abraham Lincoln. It helped get him elected. Sources were interviews with the Republican nominee and his associates as well as press accounts of various events. President Lincoln named him postmaster at Chicago. Scripps innovated the practice of distributing mail by streetcar. He and his wife were friends of the First Couple. His cousin Edward established the Scripps media company. John Locke Scripps was remembered as "a man of high scholarly attainments, great purity of character and amiable disposition." Back to B...

Grand Old Partisan celebrates more than seventeen decades of Republican heroes and heroics. Today, I salute Daniel Hastings, born in Pennsylvania, February 26th 1849. Three times, this under-age teen tried to enlist in the Union Army. After working the family farm, he became a high school principal and studied law. Business ventures included coal mining and banking and editing the  Bellefonte Republican  newspaper. Hastings entered politics managing a friend's congressional campaign. He chaired the state GOP's 1887 convention and nominated Senator John Sherman for the presidency at the 1888 Republican National Convention. Over the years, diligence with the state militia brought him to the rank of adjutant general. Effective leadership of recovery efforts after the Jonestown Flood garnered him renown. In 1896, Hastings won the governorship. Highlights of his administration included appointing the first judges to the state supreme court, creating...