Letter: GOP not the party of Lincoln

GOP THE PARTY OF LINCOLN, REALLY?

Republicans tout themselves as the party of Lincoln. Really? They have not been the party of Lincoln since, well, Lincoln.

Lincoln was idealistic, not ideological and thought government should support universal opportunity. Lincoln’s core values included freedom, justice, reason, mercy, and honor.

Reviewing Republican presidents:

Johnson: by every measure lacking Lincoln’s principles

Grant/Hayes/Garfield/Arthur/Harrison/McKinley/Taft: unmemorable presidencies except for policies ending reconstruction and the Gilded Age of super rich and abject poverty.

T. Roosevelt: closest to Lincoln’s views. A Democrat today.

Harding/Coolidge/Hoover: brought us the great depression

Eisenhower: nothing done to remind us of Lincoln.

Nixon: a disaster

Ford: not much done to judge

Reagan: committed near treason scuttling Carter’s hostage agreement, funding an illegal war in Nicaragua and illegally selling arms to Iran. Lincoln’s principles? Along with the Bushes brought us the second Gilded Age of super wealthy and abject poverty.

Bush 1: accomplished little, brought us Bush 2.

Bush 2: yikes!

Candidates McCain/Romney/Trump: Lincoln would not recognize them as Republicans.

The Republican Party is dominated by Wall Street’s shareholder capitalism. Unions are anathema. Federal regulations empowering consumers and employees are opposed.

Fueled by the massive donations of the mega-rich, today’s Republican Party is not just far from being the party of Lincoln; it’s really the party of Jefferson Davis. It suppresses minority voting; opposes federal efforts to mitigate poverty; objects to federal investment in infrastructure and education and scorns compromise. It is nearly all white and is the lineal descendant of the secessionists.

Lincoln would be a liberal Democrat today.

This story was originally published November 7, 2016 at 12:32 PM with the headline "Letter: GOP not the party of Lincoln."