[JoeRedskin]

Yup. I am aware of the historical twists and turns of our, essentially, two party system.

My point, however, (half-facetiously) was that modern day Republicans often cling to the "Party of Lincoln" legacy when, in fact, Lincoln expanded the Federal govt.'s authority further than any President before him and, for all practical intents and purposes, destroyed the original federalistic system created by the Founders. Concepts contrary to current Republican doctrine and anti-thetical to the Tea Party portion of the party.