The Party of Lincoln

For several decades, the progressive wing of the Republican Party has misrepresented the legacy of President Abraham Lincoln. In the 1960s, such politicians were accurately dubbed "Rockefeller Republicans," named for liberal New York Governor Nelson Rockefeller. Since conservatives triumphed in the GOP during the Reagan Era, liberals shied away from association with their progressive icon. Instead, they adopted the habit of claiming Lincoln as their forerunner, no matter how preposterous the assertion.

As they borrowed more stale liberal ideas from Democrats, the heirs to Rockefeller Republicanism more routinely asserted they are following the legacy of the Republican Party founded in the mid-19th century. It's as if that heroic Civil War generation who defended life and liberty were little more than precursors to whatever trendy passion today's progressive Republicans jumped aboard in alliance with their left-wing Democrat social-issue soulmates.