Grand Old Partisan

Grand Old Partisan celebrates more than seventeen decades of Republican heroes and heroics. Today, I highlight the Women’s Loyal National League, the country’s first political organization for women. Elizabeth Cady Stanton and Susan B. Anthony had called for it in a newspaper editorial, an  Appeal to the Women of the Republic . They recognized a role for women in supporting the Union cause during the Civil War. May 14th 1863, activists gathered in New York City. Morning session was at a church, with afternoon session at the Cooper Institute. Lucy Stone, another Republican icon, presided. Attendees passed an important resolution: "There can never be true peace in this republic until the civil and political rights of all citizens of African descent and all Women are practically established." Funds were raised by selling metallic pins featuring the words "In Emancipation is National Unity" and the image of a slave breaking h...

Grand Old Partisan celebrates more than seventeen decades of Republican heroes and heroics. Today, I highlight Republican integrity. May 14th 2018, the U.S. Embassy in Israel was moved from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem. President Trump announced: "On December 6th 2017, at my direction, the United States finally and officially recognized Jerusalem as the true capital of Israel. Today we follow through on this recognition and open our embassy in the historic and sacred land of Jerusalem." "This city and its entire nation is a testament to the unbreakable spirit of the Jewish people. The United States will always be a great friend of Israel and a partner in the cause of freedom and peace." 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 infor...

Grand Old Partisan celebrates more than seventeen decades of Republican heroes and heroics. Today, I salute Melvin Maas, born in Duluth, May 14th 1898. During WWI, he flew reconnaissance missions over the Atlantic. Restoration of peace brought him back to the family insurance business. Age twenty-eight, this conservative Republican won first of three terms in the U.S. House of Representatives. Weeks before leaving Congress, he disarmed a crazed gunman in the visitors gallery. One term out of office, and his constituents returned him for five more terms. While a Member of Congress during WWII, Maas flew combat missions in the Pacific. Losing for another term, he commanded an airbase at Okinawa. Shrapnel wounds eventually caused total blindness. In 1954, President Dwight Eisenhower named him to chair his Committee on Employment of the Handicapped. Back to Basics for the Republican Party  is my civil rights history of the GOP. To quote the ...

Grand Old Partisan celebrates more than seventeen decades of Republican heroes and heroics. Today, I appreciate Republican dedication to law enforcement. May 12th 1969, the Nixon administration created the United States Marshals Service. Within the Justice Department, a Director supervises marshals nationwide. The position of U.S. Marshal was established by the Judiciary Act of 1789. Duties of a marshal include protecting federal courts, apprehending fugitives, transferring prisoners, executing court orders and arrest warrants. It was the Eisenhower administration, in 1956, which first set up an office for supervising marshals. President Nixon’s initiative upgraded it to a formal agency. 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 .  He...

Grand Old Partisan celebrates more than seventeen decades of Republican heroes and heroics. Today, I congratulate the Republican Party for its 1964 Civil Rights Act. This landmark legislation was based on the GOP’s 1960 Civil Rights Act, which was based on the GOP’s 1957 Civil Rights Act, which was based on the GOP’s 1875 Civil Rights Act, which was based on the GOP’s 1866 Civil Rights Act. Explained in  Back to Basics for the Republican Party , the 1964 Civil Rights Act was modeled after a draft bill devised by the Republican minority. Only later did Democrats come up with their watered-down version. May 13th, a conference held in the office of Republican Senator Everett Dirksen modified this proposed bill to overcome a Democrat-led filibuster. Along with most other political leaders and media at the time, President Lyndon Johnson credited Dirksen for getting the bill passed: "The Attorney General said that you were very he...

Grand Old Partisan celebrates more than seventeen decades of Republican heroes and heroics. Today, I highlight an organization established by African-American Republicans Ida Wells, Mary Terrell and other civil rights activists. They vowed "to promote equality of rights and eradicate caste or race prejudice among citizens of the United States; to advance the interest of colored citizens; to secure for them impartial suffrage; and to increase their opportunities for securing justice in the courts, education for their children, employment according to their ability, and complete equality before the law." May 12th 1910, at its second annual meeting, the National Negro Committee voted to adopt a new name, the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People. The term "colored" was selected to include all dark-skinned people. In later years, other names were considered – the New Abolitionists, the Lincoln Association and others – but NAACP it remai...