I Truly Miss the Grand Old Party

• 

They call themselves “Republicans.” They are not. I remember the Grand Old Party and today’s men and women prove day after day that they bear no resemblance to the Party of Lincoln.

• First and foremost, Republicans would never have nominated a fascist who is the least qualified candidate in American history for the presidency in three successive elections. Republicans had integrity, morals, and principles. Today’s fake Republicans are extremists whose priorities are themselves and their owners, oligarchs/billionaires.

  What these AI Republicans are not: supportive of small business, defenders of individual rights, equality for all, including minorities, the LGBTQ community, and women, freedom of and from religion, encouraging voters to go to the polls, and willing to create a system of fair taxation for all Americans.

  I turned 21 in 1967. The first general election I used my right to vote was in 1968. It was a difficult year to be a first-time voter.

  My candidate of choice was Robert Kennedy. In June, he was murdered in Los Angeles. I was crushed to a degree approaching my feelings of loss on November 22, 1963. I was at a loss. Who was worthy of my most valued right as an American citizen?

  I had watched the 1960 debates and was not a fan of Republican Richard Nixon. I was not impressed by Democrat Hubert Humphrey. As an independent, I needed to make a decision. I didn’t want to abstain from my first election.

  I will not reveal my choice, because it is of no importance. However, I will tell you that Richard Nixon was a true Republican. In spite of his unforgivable crimes, he accomplished more for our country than all other Republicans combined in the last 50 years.

  Some of his greatest successes are opposed by today’s pretenders.

  Nixon created the Environmental Protection Agency in 1970.

  In 1973, President Nixon ended the draft, moving the United States Military to an all-volunteer force.

  Nixon dedicated a $100 million to begin the war on cancer, a campaign that led to the creation of national cancer centers and antidotes that helped fight the deadly disease.

  Nixon opened the doors for women in collegiate sports when he signed Title IX in 1972, a civil rights law preventing gender bias at colleges and universities receiving Federal aid.

  Nixon initiated and oversaw the peaceful desegregation of southern schools.

  A great proponent of the 26th Amendment, Nixon lowered the voting age from twenty-one to eighteen, extending the right to vote to America’s youth.

  President Nixon was the first President to visit the People’s Republic of China, where he issued the Shanghai Communiquè, announcing a desire for open, normalized relations. The diplomatic tour de force brought more than a billion people out of isolation.

  Nixon established a new relationship with the Middle East, eliminating Soviet dominance in the region.

  There were many more, but the former are rejected by today’s fascists.

  This is what real Republicans once believed in. Today they work for their Fuhrer and his oligarchs.

  Op-ed by James Turnage

  If you follow my blog, you will be an informed American citizen

  Source: https://www.nixonfoundation.org/richard-nixons-top-domestic-and-foreign-policy-achievements/