Will the real Republican Party please stand?

America needs a Republican Party that represents ordinary people and solves extraordinary problems. That would be a political party whose policies command a clear majority of votes cast in a national election.

The Republican Party got under way during the administration of President Abraham Lincoln. Republican legislators produced a national graduated income tax to distribute the burden of cost of government in an equitable manner.

To raise additional money, the government sold bonds directly to individuals, thus circumventing the sometimes-greedy Eastern banking industry.

The Republicans established paper currency backed by the credit of the United States valid for all debts, public and private.  That backing made it safe for anyone to accept the paper money.

They adopted the Homestead Act, granting 160 acres to anyone who was willing to live on it five years and make those acres productive. The Republicans recognized that a dependable food supply is the foundation for a great nation.

To make the Homestead Act even more effective, they established the Land Grant College Act to ensure that the best technologies would be available to both agriculturalists and industrialists. Today, every state has a land grant educational institution as do the Territories administered by the United States.

To maximize the potential of production and education, the Republicans established the transcontinental railroad, The Union Pacific Railroad Act.

The Republicans instituted conscription for military service, a concept that later served the country well when 15 million people needed to serve in uniform during World War II.

Republicans passed legislation encouraging immigration, thus providing the human resources needed for a great nation.

Abraham Lincoln, the first Republican president, emancipated the slaves.

Republicans accomplished this while also conducting a war to preserve the United in United States.

Republican President Theodore (Teddy) Roosevelt was an American dynamo. He was the driving force behind the building of the Panama Canal. The canal has been a commercial success, and it proved its worth during World War II by allowing efficient transfer of naval assets between the Atlantic and Pacific oceans. TR dispatched a fleet of battleships, “The Great White Fleet,” on a good will tour of the world that also announced America’s arrival on the world stage.

The U.S. Congress, with Teddy Roosevelt’s fervent support, passed legislation to limit the power of monopolies and trusts that were stifling business development including the Elkins Act and the Hepburn Act. The Congress also moved to protect citizens by passing the Meat Inspection Act and the Pure Food and Drug Act. Bank failure was common in early America. The Congress passed the Aldrich-Vreeland Act during Teddy Roosevelt’s tenure to provide some banking stability. President TR is remembered today as a leading conservationist. The Congress passed the Newlands Reclamation Act with TR’s enthusiastic support. TR set aside 230 million acres to protect it from exploitation and to preserve it for citizen enjoyment.

Republican President Teddy Roosevelt invited Booker T. Washington to the White House for dinner and conversation. He was severely criticized for doing so.

Republican President William Howard Taft continued the policy of legally challenging monopolies and trusts to protect American citizens from price gouging and restraint of trade. The Taft administration brought 99 anti-trust prosecutions.

Republican President Eisenhower presided over the formation of NASA, the National Aeronautics and Space Administration, and the initiation of the interstate highway system. NASA is a major scientific program. Eisenhower ended the Korean War and kept America at peace during his eight years in office. “Ike” signed the Civil Rights Act of 1957. It wasn’t particularly potent, but it was as good as could be obtained considering the intense resistance of some politicians.

Republican members of Congress frequently voted for civil and environmental legislation during the 1960s and 1970s, much of it during the President Nixon and President Ford administrations. Consider the percentages of Republican House members (H) and Republican Senate members (S) who voted for those legislative measures.

Legislation H S

Wilderness Act of 1964 100 76

Civil Rights Act of 1964 80 82

Voting Rights Act of 1965  85 94

Nat. Environmental Policy Act of 1970  96 85

Clean Air Act of 1970 98 100

Clean Water Act of 1972 97 100

Endangered Species Act of 1973 95 100

Safe Drinking Water Act of 1974 70  Voice vote

Toxic Substances Control Act of 1976 84 56

Republican President Richard Nixon signed the National Cancer Act of 1971, establishing 15 cancer research centers.

During the early 20th Century, members of a military unit staffed by black soldiers at Brownsville, Texas were falsely accused of killing a bar tender. All 167 members were given dishonorable discharges. President Nixon restored their discharges to honorable.

When Iraq seized Kuwaiti oil fields in 1990, Republican President George H. W. Bush organized a coalition of 40 countries that quickly saved Kuwait.

Republican Senator Richard Lugar served his Indiana constituents for more than three decades. When the former Soviet Union (USSR) collapsed, he was a prime mover in the recovery of nuclear war materiel that otherwise could have been collected by rogue entities with dangerous consequences for humanity. That accomplishment alone by Senator Lugar made him one the most important U.S. Senators in American history. Senator Lugar had to stand for re-election in 2012. During the previous general election, Senator Lugar gained 86 percent of the votes. But, in 2012, the emerging Republican “tea party” defeated him in the primary.

The current Republican Party has turned its back on its former achievements. It now undermines environmental regulations, rejects science, especially climate science, withdraws from international accords including nuclear weapons restraints, and is increasingly racist.

Young people who are just now assuming their civic responsibilities need to know where the Republican Party intends to stand in the future.

Will the real Republican Party please stand?