Grand Old Partisan

Grand Old Partisan celebrates more than seventeen decades of Republican heroes and heroics. Today, I salute Leverett Saltonstall, born near Boston, September 1st 1892. He graduated from Harvard University and Harvard Law School. He was an artillery lieutenant during WWI. The young Republican entered politics as town councilman then county prosecutor. In 1922, Saltonstall won election to the state house, later becoming speaker. After a narrow loss for lieutenant governor, he was elected governor in 1938. His thrifty administration lowered taxes and reduced state debt. Grateful voters re-elected him twice. In 1944, Saltonstall won first of three U.S. Senate terms. He was among American officials to inspect Nazi death camps after liberation. Colleagues named him caucus chair. Laws receiving his support included the 1957, 1960, 1964 Civil Rights Acts and the 1965 Voting Rights Act. Back to Basics for the Republican Party is my civil rights ...

Grand Old Partisan celebrates more than seventeen decades of Republican heroes and heroics. Today, I honor Jacob Brinkerhoff, born August 31st 1810. He began practicing law in Ohio and soon was elected county prosecutor. In 1842, Brinkerhoff first won election to the U.S. House of Representatives, as a Democrat. Being opposed to slavery led him to join the Free Soil Party. During the Mexican War, he drafted a resolution barring slavery from any territory that might be acquired. By arrangement, whichever of several congressmen recognized by the Speaker would introduce it. Fortune smiled on David Wilmot, for whom it became known as the Wilmot Proviso. Back to Basics for the Republican Party   explained that this proposed legislation divided the American people into two groups, pro-slavery Democrats – and friends of freedom who would soon establish the GOP. Brinkerhoff attended several Republican National Conventions. He served twelve years as Chief Justice of...

Grand Old Partisan celebrates more than seventeen decades of Republican heroes and heroics. Today, I denounce Democrat devilry. August 31st 1864, the Slavery Party's national convention nominated for vice president a racist who opposed emancipation. George Pendleton also advocated Confederate independence. In the movie Lincoln, heroic Thaddeus Stevens confronts villainous George Pendleton : "How can I hold that all men are created equal when here before me stands, stinking, the moral carcass of the gentleman from Ohio? Proof that some men ARE inferior, endowed by their maker with dim wits, impermeable to reason, with cold, pallid slime in their veins instead of hot, red blood! YOU are more reptile than man, George, so low and flat that the foot of man is incapable of crushing you! "Yet even YOU, Pendleton – who should have been gibbetted for treason long before today – even worthless, unworthy you ought to be treated equally before the law! And so...

Grand Old Partisan celebrates more than seventeen decades of Republican heroes and heroics. Today, I spotlight the 2005 Republican Freedom Calendar . Thousands of these documents were distributed at the 2004 Republican National Convention, which began on August 30th in New York City. Additional calendars were delivered to Members of Congress and other officials around the country. After reading  Back to Basics for the Republican Party , my history of the GOP, Representative Christopher Cox hired me at the House Policy Committee. He wanted to help inform people about the book's theme, that Republicans should appreciate the heritage of our Grand Old Party. The result was this calendar, celebrating 365 achievements and heroes of the Republican Party. The entries were re-published, though not credited to me, on many websites. Cox made sure to give credit where credit was due. At his insistence, the back cover of the calendar says: "Text based ...

Grand Old Partisan celebrates more than seventeen decades of Republican heroes and heroics. Today, I salute Jack Swigert, born in Denver, August 30th 1931. The aviation enthusiast had a pilot license by age sixteen. He studied mechanical engineering at University of Colorado, aerospace engineering at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, and business administration at University of Hartford.  Twelve years, Swigert was an Air Force fighter pilot. He followed this with several years as a test pilot. His service at NASA began in 1966. He was one of three astronauts on the famous Apollo 13 mission to the Moon. He ran in the Republican primary for U.S. Senator, then worked at a mining corporation. November 1982, this "advocate for Ronald Reagan" won election to the U.S. House of Representatives. Sadly, he died of cancer before taking office. A statue of Jack Swigert is displayed at the U.S. Capitol. Back to Basics for the Republican Par...