Ronald Reagan's commencement speech at his alma mater, Eureka College

Grand Old Partisan celebrates more than seventeen decades of Republican heroes and heroics. Today, I highlight Ronald Reagan's commencement address at his alma mater. May 9th 1982, the President spoke at Eureka College, in central Illinois, where he had graduated fifty years before.

His remarks focused on relations with the Soviet Union, an empire which The Gipper would help bring down.

He noted that "Graduation Day is called 'Commencement' and properly so, because it is both a recognition of completion and a beginning. And I would like, seriously, to talk to you about this new phase — the society in which you're now going to take your place as full-time participants. You're no longer observers. You'll be called upon to make decisions and express your views on global events, because those events will affect your lives."

Later that day, President Reagan spoke at the alumni association dinner. His remarks were light-hearted and included this joke popular among Soviets at the time:

"And it has to do with when Brezhnev first became President. And he invited his elderly mother to come up and see his suite of offices in the Kremlin and then put her in his limousine and drove her to his fabulous apartment there in Moscow. And in both places, not a word. She looked; she said nothing. Then he put her in his helicopter and took her out to the country home outside Moscow in a forest. And, again, not a word. Finally, he put her in his private jet and down to the shores of the Black Sea to see that marble palace which is known as his beach home. And finally she spoke. She said, 'Leonid, what if the Communists find out?'"

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."

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and

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