The Republican Party is often called "the party of no"‐and America and the world is better for it: "No" is the birthright of The Grand Old Party. The GOP was founded in 1854 for one reason ‐ to say no slavery. "No you can't" is the Republican battle cry in defense of liberty; Ronald Reagan did not say "please" take down this wall." The GOP is not the party of silent submission; it is the party of hope for a better America.
Real hope is not an anxiety that the teleprompter works and the president does not say something stupid like; "Happy Cinco de Quatro, "57 states," or "Austrian language." Real hope is a Christian virtue, its Latin root "virtus" means courage. It takes a spine to say no to conceits of government: Confiscatory taxation, wasteful spending, intrusive bureaucracy; class envy, and racial divide.
The first bold "No" in the Republican legacy of no for a better America was in 1861 when Abraham Lincoln said no to secession of the Confederate states and led a brutal civil war that cost 618,000 lives to preserve the Union.
In 1886, Republicans then amended the constitution to say no to slavery, no to denying equal protection of law, and no to denying citizenship to former slaves.
In 1957 President Eisenhower said no to opponents of civil rights; he sent troops to enforce school desegregation.
In 1964 and '65, the Republicans said no to the filibuster by southern Democrats and voted unanimously to pass the Civil Rights Act and the Voting Rights Act for President Johnson.
In 1969 President Nixon boldly said no to job discrimination on federal projects and ordered America's first affirmative action.
In 1970 Richard Nixon also said no to hazards in the work place with the Office of Occupational Safety , and no to dirty air and water in 1971 with the Environmental Protection Agency. OSHA and the EPA received record budgets under Presidents Ford, Reagan, both Bush '41 and Bush '43. America's commitment to environmental protection began with Theodore Roosevelt who promoted the National Park System.
The Republican Party said no to denying women the right to vote; in 1920 it led passage of the 19th amendment; it also elected the first woman to Congress‐ Jeannette Rankin. In 1981 Ronald Reagan appointed the first woman to the U.S. Supreme Court‐Sandra Day O'Connor.
In 1987 and '89 President George H. W. Bush appointed Colin Powell the first African‐American CM of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, and first National Security Advisor. In 2001 George W. Bush appointed Alberto Gonzolez the first Latino Attorney General, Elaine Chou first Chinese‐American Secretary of Labor, and Condolezza Rice the first African American woman Secretary of State.
The GOP legacy of no for a better America includes; no to abuse of labor, no to cartels and monopolies, no to tainted products, and no to deficient health, education and welfare: In 1884 the GOP created the Department of Labor, in 1890 it passed the Sherman Anti Trust Act and in 1906 the Pure Food and Drug Act.
The GOP also said no provincialism and opened the west with the Homestead Act; no to ignorance with College Land Grants, and no to nepotism with the Pendleton Act to reform civil service.
In 1953 the Republican Party said no to the past and created the Department of Health, Education and Welfare, and in 1997 the Republican congress passed State Children's Health Insurance (S‐CHIP) sponsored by Rep. Senator Orin Hatch.
In 1990 George H.W. Bush said no to neglect of people with special needs and signed the American's With Disability Act.
In 2001 George W. Bush said no to inferior education with the No Child Left Behind Act, and in 2003, said no to the high cost of prescription drugs for seniors with the Medicare Drug Plan.
"No" by Republican presidents gave hope to millions: No to the Berlin Wall; no to Iraq's invasion of Kuwait and its defiance of 17 U.N. resolutions; no to terrorism with the Patriot Act and no to: "This war is lost."
Republicans also said no to partisanship during two World Wars, Korea and Vietnam and supported Democrat presidents.
America and the world is better and safer because when it was easier to say yes, the Republican Party had the courage to say NO!
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