Grand Old Partisan

Grand Old Partisan celebrates more than seventeen decades of Republican heroes and heroics. Today, I salute Winthrop Rockefeller, born in New York City, May 1st 1912. He was grandson of oil magnate John Rockefeller and brother of Vice President Nelson Rockefeller. He rose to lieutenant colonel during WWII. Heroism when a kamikaze plane struck his troopship garnered him a Bronze Star with Oak Leave Clusters as well as a Purple Heart. A visit in 1953 to Arkansas convinced him to settle there. Rockefeller put his wealth to good use, financing schools and clinics and a fine arts center. He entered politics with fundraising for the state GOP, and soon the party named him Republican National Committeeman. Two years after a failed bid to unseat racist Democrat governor Orval Faubus, in 1966 Rockefeller was elected governor. Highlights of his two terms included desegregating schools and reforming prisons. Looking back on his administration, ...

Grand Old Partisan celebrates more than seventeen decades of Republican heroes and heroics. Today, I salute Revolutionary War veteran Joshua Dewey. The patriotic teen helped defend Connecticut against British troops. After graduating from Yale, he served in the New York legislature and was named local tax collector by President John Quincy Adams. Having cast a ballot in support of George Washington, he voted for Abraham Lincoln in 1860. February 20th 1861, while staying at Manhattan’s Astor House Hotel, the President-elect chatted with the 94-year-old Dewey. Presidential aide John Hay, who arranged the meeting, recognized the public relations value of linking the incoming Chief Executive with the Father of our Country. 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 i...

Grand Old Partisan celebrates more than seventeen decades of Republican heroes and heroics. Today, I honor Worthington Smith, born in Vermont, April 19th 1823. His factory manufactured railroad tracks and other equipment. He served in both legislative chambers, rising to senate president pro tempore. During the Civil War, he recruited volunteers for an infantry regiment. Smith was delegate to the 1864 Republican National Convention. Peace restored, he won three terms in the U.S. House of Representatives. Receiving his vote were the 15th Amendment, the [anti-] Ku Klux Klan Act and Yellowstone National Park. The years after leaving Congress focused on banking and railroads and University of Vermont. His brother and his uncle were Governors. 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 o...

Grand Old Partisan celebrates more than seventeen decades of Republican heroes and heroics. Today, I spotlight a landmark White House event. April 29th 1864, Abraham Lincoln met with five Black civil rights activists from North Carolina. Their leader was Abraham Galloway, a former slave who had been a Union Army scout and recruiter. He noted that "the war would emancipate the poor white man of the south, as well as the blacks." Their discussion centered on extending citizenship and voting rights. They presented a petition thanking the President for his Emancipation Proclamation. It requested that he "finish the noble work you have begun, and grant to your petitioners that greatest of privileges, when the State is reconstructed, to exercise the right of suffrage." Back to Basics for the Republican Party  is my civil rights history of the GOP. To quote the book: "The more we Repu...

Grand Old Partisan celebrates more than seventeen decades of Republican heroes and heroics. Today, I revere Republican efforts to counter Democrat vote fraud. When, after the Civil War, the Slavery Party won control of Congress, its top priority was to disenfranchise African-Americans in southern states. April 1879, Democrats passed a bill eliminating use of soldiers at polling places to safeguard voting rights. It also repealed a Republican law outlawing the Ku Klux Klan. This measure took the form of an amendment to the army appropriations bill. In effect, to get their way, Democrats were threatening to defund the army. On the 29th, Rutherford Hayes vetoed the legislation. He called on Democrats to "restore to the country that feeling of confidence and security and the repose which are so essential to the prosperity of all of our fellow-citizens." Four more times, Democrats passed their amendment and the Republica...