How Republicans Forfeited Lincoln’s Legacy
The GOP may call itself the “party of Lincoln,” but the 16th president wouldn’t recognize what it’s become.
16, meet 45.
Credit: Joe Raedle/Getty Images; Hulton/Archive/Getty Images
As the Republican National Convention unfolds this week in Milwaukee, the despicable attempt to assassinate Donald Trump may lead Republicans to lean into their history as the “party of Lincoln.” But would our 16th president, who survived assassination attempts before being murdered in Ford’s Theatre, recognize what his party has become under Trump?
Republicans and Democrats have long argued over whose party is the rightful heir to Lincoln’s legacy. Democrats traditionally point to Lincoln’s activist approach to government — on infrastructure, civil rights, education and other issues — to claim his mantle, while Republicans can point to Lincoln’s celebration of individual enterprise and his commitment to personal freedom, a central GOP economic (though not social) idea.