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THERE IS NOTHING WRONG WITH REPUBLICANS; INTERVIEW WITH A GREAT ONE

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Jeffersons Ghost Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Fri Jul-14-06 09:51 AM
Original message
THERE IS NOTHING WRONG WITH REPUBLICANS; INTERVIEW WITH A GREAT ONE


To prove that there is nothing wrong with true Republicans, I humbly submit an interview with the founder of the party; Abraham Lincoln.

Interviewer -- Mr. Lincoln could you please comment of speeches by the current president?

Lincoln -- "Better to remain silent and be thought a fool than to speak out and remove all doubt."
"No man has a good enough memory to be a successful liar."
"You can fool all the people some of the time, and some of the people all the time, but you cannot fool all the people all the time."
"I believe it is an established maxim in morals that he who makes an assertion without knowing whether it is true or false, is guilty of falsehood; and the accidental truth of the assertion, does not justify or excuse him."
"I am a firm believer in the people. If given the truth, they can be depended upon to meet any national crisis. The great point is to bring them the real facts."
"What kills a skunk is the publicity it gives itself."
"He bores me. He ought to have stuck to his flying machine."

Interviewer -- Are you saying the president should have served his whole term of enlistment in the Air National Guard?

Lincoln -- "Fellow-citizens, we cannot escape history. We of this Congress and this administration, will be remembered in spite of ourselves. No personal significance, or insignificance, can spare one or another of us. The fiery trial through which we pass, will light us down, in honor or dishonor, to the latest generation."
"I do not think much of a man who is not wiser today than he was yesterday."
"You cannot escape the responsibility of tomorrow by evading it today."
"You have to do your own growing no matter how tall your grandfather was."

Interviewer -- During war-time isn't it advisable to set aside certain elements of the Constitution and The Bill of Rights?

Lincoln -- "Four score and seven years ago our fathers brought forth on this continent, a new nation, conceived in Liberty, and dedicated to the proposition that all men are created equal."
"Don't interfere with anything in the Constitution. That must be maintained, for it is the only safeguard of our liberties."
"America will never be destroyed from the outside. If we falter and lose our freedoms, it will be because we destroyed ourselves."
"I have never had a feeling, politically, that did not spring from ... the Declaration of Independence ... that all should have an equal chance. This is the sentiment embodied in the Declaration of Independence ... I would rather be assassinated on this spot than surrender it."

Interviewer -- But Mr. Lincoln, Big Business has freedoms too. Shouldn't our government diligently serve large banks and gigantic American corporations?

Lincoln -- "The Lord prefers common people. That is why he makes so many of them."
"The shepherd drives the wolf from the sheep for which the sheep thanks the shepherd as his liberator, while the wolf denounces him for the same act as the destroyer of liberty. Plainly, the sheep and the wolf are not agreed upon a definition of liberty."
"These capitalists generally act harmoniously and in concert, to fleece the people."
"You cannot build character and courage by taking away a man's initiative and independence."
"This country, with its institutions, belongs to the people who inhabit it. Whenever they shall grow weary of the existing government, they can exercise their constitutional right of amending it, or exercise their revolutionary right to overthrow it."

Interviewer -- Don't you agree with using issues like abortion in this divide and conquer strategy used by current elected officials who call themselves Republicans?

Lincoln -- "How many legs does a dog have if you call the tail a leg? Four. Calling a tail a leg doesn't make it a leg."
"A house divided against itself cannot stand."
"I would save the Union. I would save it the shortest way under the Constitution. The sooner it can be restored; the nearer the Union will be to the Union as it was."
"There is more involved in this contest than is realized by every one. There is involved in this struggle the question whether your children and my children shall enjoy the privileges we have enjoyed."

Interviewer -- Those are all very old notions Mr. Lincoln. Don't you agree we need a more modern conservative approach to modern problems?

Lincoln -- "What is conservatism? Is it not adherence to the old and tried, against the new and untried?"
"It is not merely for today, but for all time to come that we should perpetuate for our children's children this great and free government, which we have enjoyed all our lives."

Interviewer -- If you are of that mind, Mr. Lincoln, shouldn't we maintain and interject conservative religious values into government through our schools?

Lincoln -- "The philosophy of the school room in one generation will be the philosophy of government in the next."
"The will of God prevails. In great contests each party claims to act in accordance with the will of God. Both may be, and one must be, wrong."
"I care not much for a man's religion whose dog and cat are not the better for it."

Interviewer -- Mr Lincoln, you speak a great deal on character and freedom: Do you have any closing thoughts?

Lincoln -- "If you want to test a man's character, give him power."
"You cannot build character and courage by taking away a man's initiative and independence."
"Our safety, our liberty, depends upon preserving the Constitution of the United States as our fathers made it inviolate. The people of the United States are the rightful masters of both Congress and the courts, not to overthrow the Constitution, but to overthrow the men who pervert the Constitution."
"Those who deny freedom to others deserve it not for themselves."


As we see, there is nothing wrong with conservatives who uphold traditional values or Republicans. It's a shame no traditional conservatives or Republicans are currently serving in our government.



Remember who the real conservative is, in future debates with neocons. Remind those who dare to call themselves "conservatives" what must be conserved if our divided house is to stand.
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whistle Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Fri Jul-14-06 09:54 AM
Response to Original message
1. Very good
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Jeffersons Ghost Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Fri Jul-14-06 10:05 AM
Response to Reply #1
4. it took a while to dig up the right quotes. IMHO, here is his finest...
Did you know the Federal Reserve is a gigantic privatly owned bank that is VERY happy that we owe it $9 TRILLION? Lincoln railed against a nearly identical institution and actually gave the National Bank of his day some competition by pushing Congress to print "Greenbacks," which were not a debt-based currency like ours.

Abraham Lincoln said, "The government should create, issue, and circulate all the currency and credit needed to satisfy the spending power of the government and the buying power of consumers. The privilege
of creating and issuing money is not only the supreme prerogative of government, but it is the government’s greatest creative opportunity. The financing of all public enterprise, and the conduct of the treasury will become matters of practical administration. Money will cease to be master and will then become servant of humanity."
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KKKarl is an idiot Donating Member (662 posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Fri Jul-14-06 09:59 AM
Response to Original message
2. Excellent post
What a great orator he was. Now we have Dubyah: Who elected him anywhere? How is it that almost 140 years later w have a man in power who has the power of a man from the stone age. Is man regressing in this modern age.
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jus_the_facts Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Fri Jul-14-06 10:01 AM
Response to Original message
3. here's two of my favorite quotes....off topic but related to your handle..
"I never submitted the whole system of my opinions to the creed of any party of men whatever in religion, in philosophy, in politics, or in anything else where I was capable of thinking for myself. Such an addiction is the last degradation of a free and moral agent."

-Thomas Jefferson, letter to Francis Hopkinson, March 13, 1789
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

"Christianity neither is, nor ever was a part of the common law."

-Thomas Jefferson, letter to Dr. Thomas Cooper, February 10, 1814

http://www.nobeliefs.com/jefferson.htm
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Jeffersons Ghost Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Fri Jul-14-06 10:08 AM
Response to Reply #3
5. Jefferson and Lincoln - two BEAUTIFUL MINDS... It's a shame and sham...
that America can no longer elect wise leaders like Jefferson and Lincoln.
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Bake Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Fri Jul-14-06 01:31 PM
Response to Reply #5
22. There don't seem to be many like them today
I'm having a hard time coming up with ANY. Gore, maybe.

Bake
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grytpype Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Fri Jul-14-06 10:10 AM
Response to Original message
6. .
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Joey Liberal Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Fri Jul-14-06 10:19 AM
Response to Original message
7. Great Post
I still hate republicans though.
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Jeffersons Ghost Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Fri Jul-14-06 10:25 AM
Response to Reply #7
8. I hate liars and hypocrites: It's a shame so many claim to be "Republican"
As we clearly see, no modern neocon voter or candidate upholds or supports real conservative Republican ideals.
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Joey Liberal Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Fri Jul-14-06 10:27 AM
Response to Reply #8
9. That's very true, and
Thanks again for that wonderful post!
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Virginia Dare Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Fri Jul-14-06 10:35 AM
Response to Original message
10. In my more contemplative moods, I wonder...
how would I have felt when Lincoln suspended the writ of habeous corpus, and in effect declared martial law? Would that have been troubling and offending to me? The average person could not have thought on such a deeply intellectual level that Lincoln did. Would I have understood what the consequences of not doing so would have brought? How lucky were we to have such a great mind and a compassionate man as our President during those times. The polar opposite of what we have now, so we're surely screwed.

Of course, being a woman in South, I'd a been barefoot and pregnant anyway, so I guess it wouldn't much matter what I thought.:rofl:
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Jeffersons Ghost Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Fri Jul-14-06 10:44 AM
Response to Reply #10
11. I don't know about that Virginia. On women, Lincoln respectfully submits..
"A woman is the only thing I am afraid of that I know will not hurt me."
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Virginia Dare Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Fri Jul-14-06 10:46 AM
Response to Reply #11
12. Lincoln was indeed apparently hen-pecked...
Mary wore the pants in the relationship it seems. Lincoln never had much success with women overall.

But, you have to admit, women didn't have too many rights back then, and nobody much cared what they thought anyway, at least as far as politics goes.
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Jeffersons Ghost Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Fri Jul-14-06 11:02 AM
Response to Reply #12
13. Mary Lincoln did! LOL... is "henpecked" simply a way to hold women back?
Maybe if we call a man "henpecked," he'll do his job and keep the wife in her place. Lincoln appears to be one of the wisest people that ever lived. Maybe his ideas about allowing a woman equality in a relationship were correct. In personal experience, I helped a few women attain their true potential and those who did, love me better for that emotional support.
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Virginia Dare Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Fri Jul-14-06 11:10 AM
Response to Reply #13
14. Ironically...
I think Lincoln was just a peace loving man who shied away from conflict (he didn't have the heart for war--quit and went home after a brief stint fighting the indians). I think he just let Mary have her way because it was easier than not letting her have it.

Which makes it all that more amazing and incredible to me that he was able to do what he did for the sake of this country. Probably one of the greatest men who ever lived in my opinion.

Wish we had somebody even remotely like him today, I hope by some miracle someone steps up to the plate.
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Jeffersons Ghost Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Fri Jul-14-06 11:30 AM
Response to Reply #14
15. the "wise" detest war. War is the first resort of a fool....
A wise leader only commits troops to battle after long and careful soul-searching, analysis. Violence is the first refuge of the incompetent and a last resort of the wise.

It would also have been easier to let the South have her way and the National Bank to have hers.

Peace-loving Lincoln rarely took the easy way out, simply because it benefited him. Letting Mary have her way, in his day, had social consequences and took the very same courage he clearly showed in the execution of his duties as Commander-in-Chief.
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Virginia Dare Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Fri Jul-14-06 11:48 AM
Response to Reply #15
16. A personal note...
my six-year old learned about Lincoln in school this year as a part of social studies (yes, in Virginia Kindergartners have social studies). Anyway, it was really rather superficial, and they also learned a little song about him. Of course, she came home asking questions, and I tried to fill in some blanks for her and explain slavery and assasination etc. as best I could. By the time we finished talking, she was so profoundly moved, she was in tears. Amazing, isn't it, that his legacy still has that effect on people, especially those so young?

Shortly after that, when we were in downtown D.C., she pointedly wanted to know where Ford's Theatre was, and she stated a great interest in seeing it and the house where Lincoln died. I promised to take her there one day.

On another note--my husband's great great uncle was supposedly selling newspapers on the streets of D.C. the night Lincoln was shot, he was only about 6 or 7 years old, but quite understandably it was a lifelong memorable experience, and the tale has been passed down through the generations, and another friend of mine's great grandfather did the autopsy on J.W. Boothe. Pretty cool, huh?
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Jeffersons Ghost Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Fri Jul-14-06 11:56 AM
Response to Reply #16
17. pretty cool indeed, Virginia...
I've read many of your posts at DU and I think some of the greatness Lincoln personifies rubbed off on your family. Old stories handed down have a long history of providing inspiration and character to people.
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Virginia Dare Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Fri Jul-14-06 11:59 AM
Response to Reply #17
18. Don't be too impressed...
I'm also related to Pat Robertson

:blush:
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Jeffersons Ghost Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Fri Jul-14-06 12:30 PM
Response to Reply #18
20. my condolences... we can't pick our relatives...
See what happens when a side of the family losses track of those handed-down word-of-mouth stories? If that side of your family had continued the same fine traditions as your lineage, your religious relative might have been more like Dr. King or Gandhi. It's sad and a microcosm for America. Once we lose sight of where we came from, we lose all direction, including our path to the future.
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nebenaube Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Sat Jul-15-06 12:34 AM
Response to Reply #16
26. imagine how I feel being that he was a great, great uncle of mine... n/t
Edited on Sat Jul-15-06 12:36 AM by nebenaube
or something like that... The Hanks are my third cousins.
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DeepModem Mom Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Fri Jul-14-06 12:29 PM
Response to Original message
19. K&R
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Jeffersons Ghost Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Fri Jul-14-06 08:22 PM
Response to Reply #19
24. thanks for the kick...
I read a great OP by you a bit ago and was glad to return the favor. You do good work.
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Lasher Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Fri Jul-14-06 12:38 PM
Response to Original message
21. I like Ike
Edited on Fri Jul-14-06 12:39 PM by Lasher
Sometimes I think I only dreamed of those days before the Reagan administration. The news media didn't seem to be an endless infomercial for rich people and their corporations. Republicans and Democrats respected each other as loyal Americans, regardless of their political differences - which seemed minute compared to today's polarization. Republicans put America's interests before the ideologies of their political party, and the agendas of the corporations that now own them.

Maybe I was just naive in those days. Maybe it's always been pretty much like it is today. Maybe I only dreamed we were a better nation back then.

I am constantly amazed (and annoyed) when the Right claims that the US has been hijacked by the Left over the past few decades. This is utter nonsense - the actual evidence indicates that we've moved far, far to the Right.

Consider the case of Dwight D. Eisenhower, the 34th President of the United States (1953-1961), Supreme Allied Commander in Europe during World War II, and a Republican. Funny thing is, by today's standards, Ike would be a flaming liberal, to the Left of all recent serious contenders for the Democratic Party presidential nomination.

http://blueworksbetter.com/EisenhowerFlamingLiberal


Edit for grammar.
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Jeffersons Ghost Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Fri Jul-14-06 04:27 PM
Response to Reply #21
23. I like Ike too and originally intended to work him into the OP...
The quotes by Eisenhower I find most redeeming are in his farewell address. He attempted to warn America about a cancer growing in the very bosom of Liberty. He called it a MILITARY INDUSTRIAL COMPLEX. That viper has now poisoned representatives on both sides of the isle.

A sequel to this OP, featuring Eisenhower, as the last true Republican is already in the planing stages.
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Lasher Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Sat Jul-15-06 04:28 AM
Response to Reply #23
27. Good, I'll look forward to that.
Edited on Sat Jul-15-06 04:29 AM by Lasher
Have you seen this thoughtful 60 Minutes segment by Andy Rooney titled, Ike Was Right About War Machine? It includes a video clip.

http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2005/09/30/60minutes/main892398.shtml

I couldn't agree more with Andy on this one. I don't know of anyone else of similar stature who has had the courage to just state the obvious: The military-industrial complex has taken over, just like Ike warned.

Edit: My cat walked on the keyboard.
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Cha Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Fri Jul-14-06 08:27 PM
Response to Original message
25. That's when they were
Republicans..Now they're republiCONS. Somebody along the way HIJACKED their potty.
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