Although the Republican Party often refers to itself as the Party of Lincoln, recent inaction by GOP senators and representatives lays waste to that claim, and actually impugns the memory of one of our greatest presidents.
The Great Emancipator broke ranks with the prevailing Whig party and led our nation through a tragic war to advance the full citizenship of black Americans. Have the actions of our current Republican party echoed Lincoln’s commitment in these tragic days when police officers brazenly kill a suspect while being videotaped with onlookers begging them to heed George Floyd’s cries for air?
They have not. Their denial of clear evidence of police brutality and shaming of protesters instead insults the heritage of the Republican Party. Instead, Democrats in Congress have drafted proposals to respond to the public outcry. They have worked quickly in this crisis, energized by the sheer morality of making positive changes to race prejudice that, sadly, continues to plague our nation.
Where have the Republicans gone? Why have not the Republicans been at the forefront of these changes? Has the DNA of the party been so diluted that it has forsaken its very founding principles?
In doing so, our modern Republican Party has squandered an historic opportunity to respond to this crisis with the dignity and commitment it deserves. And in doing so, it is erasing the legacy that it has always cherished.
Michael BrennanDurango
