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Was Abraham Lincoln a Republican in Name Only by present-day standards?

 
 
 
lpetrich

lpetrich

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Republican in Name Only = RINO = rhinoceros = fake elephant

In fact, he was much like a present-day Democrat.
  • He got the most votes in the northeastern and west-coast states, just like present-day Democrats.
  • He raised taxes: the Revenue Acts of 1861 and 1862, and the second and third Morrill Tariffs.
  • He did government giveaways to people without a lot of money: the Homestead Act of 1862.
  • He supported higher education: the Morrill Land-Grant Colleges Act of 1862.
  • He supported infrastructure development: the Pacific Railway Acts of 1862 and 1864 for constructing the Transcontinental Railroad.
  • He led the Northern side of the Civil War, fighting the South.
  • He expanded the Federal Government and increased its influence.
By comparison, the Republican Party is now the party of Jefferson Davis. Senator Trent Lott (R-MS): "The spirit of Jefferson Davis lives in the 1984 Republican Platform."
 
Umm... it is pretty well known that the old Republican Party has very little in common with the current one. Teddy Roosevelt? Talk softly, big stick, man of the land, conservationist, not a draft dodger. Lincoln? Let's not even go there.
 
For all the conventional wisdom of Republicans being anti-tax, they do like their protective tariffs. Lincoln's tariffs were a splendid example of that. Plus his infrastructure improvements were pretty much normal corporatism supported since Hamilton to the present day Republicans. He did it because the corporations liked it. The tariffs were to limit competition to the businesses that were his backers, and the revenue was used to pay for the improvements for his backers.

Plus, in the name of war fighting powers, he suspended habeas corpus, another thing that Republicans like. He even deported a Northern political opponent, falsely accusing him of being Southern.
 
dismal said:
Yes, and Roosevelt rounded people up and sent them to camps.
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That was FDR, and that was the Japanese internment camps of WWII. Something that some certified right-wingers have defended. Certified right-wingers like Michelle Malkin and certain members of the John Birch Society (I remember that from the JBS's magazine).
 
The Republican party has long had a bit of cognitive dissonance on Lincoln. They love claiming him as their own, as he is widely recognized as one of the greatest presidents. At the same time there is a segment of the party (probably a large segment now) that considers him a tyrant, and responsible for the 'war of northern aggression. Maybe some of them praise him in public, but denounce him in private, to appeal to whatever audience they have.
 
If he was a closet gay, then bonafide Republican.
 
You don't have to go back that far. I would easily argue that Dwight Eisenhower was also a left of center liberal. The republican party lost their shit after Kennedy and started placing winning over governing.

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marc said:
The Republican party has long had a bit of cognitive dissonance on Lincoln. They love claiming him as their own, as he is widely recognized as one of the greatest presidents. At the same time there is a segment of the party (probably a large segment now) that considers him a tyrant, and responsible for the 'war of northern aggression. Maybe some of them praise him in public, but denounce him in private, to appeal to whatever audience they have.
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It's comments like this that make me wonder if people on this board actually know any Republicans. I've met a few, even talked with them.
 
Jason Harvestdancer said:
marc said:
The Republican party has long had a bit of cognitive dissonance on Lincoln. They love claiming him as their own, as he is widely recognized as one of the greatest presidents. At the same time there is a segment of the party (probably a large segment now) that considers him a tyrant, and responsible for the 'war of northern aggression. Maybe some of them praise him in public, but denounce him in private, to appeal to whatever audience they have.
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It's comments like this that make me wonder if people on this board actually know any Republicans. I've met a few, even talked with them.
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What do you think that Republicans *really* think about this issue?
 
Lincoln was a very bright person. That fact alone puts him at odds with present day republican mainstream. Think President Dotard. Also, Lincoln was a pragmatist. He didn't have an unbending ideology except for the preservation of national liberty and equality.
 
I should add that Abraham Lincoln supported black civil rights, even if not very consistently.

Alcoholic Actuary said:
You don't have to go back that far. I would easily argue that Dwight Eisenhower was also a left of center liberal. The republican party lost their shit after Kennedy and started placing winning over governing.
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Robert Welch, founder of the John Birch Society, apparently believed that Eisenhower was not only a RINO but a Communist.
 
joedad said:
Lincoln was a very bright person. That fact alone puts him at odds with present day republican mainstream. Think President Dotard. Also, Lincoln was a pragmatist. He didn't have an unbending ideology except for the preservation of national liberty and equality.
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Actually, ever since the party was founded, the rival party has always described Republicans as anywhere from intellectually incurious at best to downright unintelligent. Including, yes, even Lincoln.

Lincoln did have an unbending ideology, he was consistently and unyieldingly in favor of using the power of the government to the benefit of the corporations.
 
Jason Harvestdancer said:
joedad said:
Lincoln was a very bright person. That fact alone puts him at odds with present day republican mainstream. Think President Dotard. Also, Lincoln was a pragmatist. He didn't have an unbending ideology except for the preservation of national liberty and equality.
Click to expand...

Actually, ever since the party was founded, the rival party has always described Republicans as anywhere from intellectually incurious at best to downright unintelligent. Including, yes, even Lincoln.

Lincoln did have an unbending ideology, he was consistently and unyieldingly in favor of using the power of the government to the benefit of the corporations.
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Since Lincoln was a pragmatist not an idealist, he could not possibly have satisfied a true libertarian.
 
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