150th Anniversary of the Civil War

[SmootSmack]

Originally Posted by 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.

Like this classic exchange on 30 Rock (tried to find the video clip, couldn't so I just pilfered this straight from IMDB)

Jack asks Tracy if he supports lower taxes -- he would if he paid them. Gun ownership? Tracy says, "Go on...' States rights? He loves states rights! Jack also mentions that Lincoln was a Republican, and Dotcom chimes in.

"Actually, today's Republican party would be unrecognizable to Lincoln. He fought a war to preserve federal authority over the states, that's not exactly small government." Jack says Dotcom's need to be the smartest guy in the room is off-putting.

Dotcom hangs his head and says "I guess that's why I'm still single."