J. C. Watts, the first African-American in congressional leadership


Grand Old Partisan honors Julius Caesar Watts, born November 18th 1957. After studying journalism at the University of Oklahoma, he played five seasons with the Canadian Football League.

An ordained Baptist minister, Watts won a seat on the corporation commission. In 1994, this impressive Republican was elected to first of four terms in the U.S. House of Representatives. He delivered the GOP's response to the 1997 State of the Union Address:

"We believe, first of all, that the state of this union really isn't determined in Washington, D.C. It never has been and it never will be. But for a long time, the federal government has been grabbing too much power and too much authority over all of the people. And it is those people — it is all of us — who decide the real state of the union."

"The strength of America is not in Washington. The strength of America is at home, in lives well lived in a land of faith and family. The strength of America is not on Wall Street, but on Main Street, not in big business, but in small business with local owners and workers. It's not in Congress. It's in the city hall."

Following year, his colleagues named him chairman of the House Republican Conference.

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. 

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Michael Zak is author of Back to Basics for the Republican Party, a history of GOP civil rights achievement.


Each day, his YouTube videos and TikTok videos and Rumble videos and Grand Old Partisan blog celebrate more than seventeen decades of Republican heroes and heroics. And, see Speech Raves for audience feedback from his presentations in thirty-one states.

Clarence Thomas cited Back to Basics for the Republican Party in a Supreme Court decision.

"This is the most amazing book about politics that I have ever read. The Overview should be required reading for anyone with even a minor interest in government. The remainder is an enthralling history lesson that I will never forget. For years, we have all been misled about the true nature of the GOP. This is the real deal! Read it and be proud!"

"Your book is a national treasure. I'm always recommending it."

"Michael Zak wrote the definitive history of the GOP."

"Back to Basics for the Republican Party is the most significant contribution to the Republican Party in the last twenty years apart from Ronald Reagan."

"Back to Basics for the Republican Party is more important to our party now than ever before."

and

"one of the best books I ever read"

 

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