MRA’s Lincoln-Reagan Brunch 2/28/2010

It is fitting that we are gathered here today to honor the memories of two great Republican Presidents – Abraham Lincoln and Ronald Reagan. 2010 is the 150th anniversary of the election of Lincoln as our nation’s first Republican President. President Reagan was elected exactly 120 years later. Lincoln was born on February 12th, and Reagan was born on February 6th. It is also fitting that this event is being hosted by the Mass. Republican Assemblies. President Reagan always called them the real Republicans in the Republican Party. They deserve our thanks for carrying the torch of timeless Republican principles.

These two great Republicans, Abraham Lincoln and Ronald Reagan, showed Republicans how to win. They adhered to the principles of the Party and the Constitution, they articulated their message clearly and pointed out the differences among the major parties, and they organized and organized some more at the grassroots level to get out the vote. They were men of great determination and principle, and they loved this great experiment called America. They intimately understood that to be great, the nation had to be good! It had to put its trust in the Great Legislator of the Universe, and ‘We the People” had to be united in our beliefs and our purpose. They both left other political parties who had lost their way, and they both confronted evil during their tenure in office – the evil of slavery and the evil empire. They were both victimized by assassins with Lincoln giving his life so that all men might be created equal, and that the United States of America might be preserved. They were men of humility, men of vision, statesmen, and true public servants . . . Citizen Legislators and servants of the People which we sorely need today.

Lincoln and Reagan believed in justice for all, limited government, constitutional integrity, and keeping our country strong. Lincoln stood up to the evil of his time that kept people in bondage. In 1858, during the famous Lincoln-Douglas debates he said “The issue in this controversy is slavery, and whether it will be viewed as a social, moral, and political evil or whether it will be national and perpetual.” Three years later the country would be consumed in the bloodiest conflict in our nation’s history. Most of us ‘old duffers’ as Reagan put it, remember how he broke the back of Communism by building up our nation’s military. The world will never forget when he said, “Tear down that wall Mr. Gorbachev” in referring to the Berlin Wall.

They were also men of great humor. A temperance committee once visited the White House. They wanted the President to fire General Grant because he drank too much. Lincoln said “Well I wish you would tell me what brand of whiskey he drinks, because I want to send a barrel of it to all of my other generals.” And who can forget Reagan’s comment at the hospital after he had been shot “I sure hope you are a Republican” Reagan said to the attending physician. He also liked to say that “when you get in bed with government, you are going to get more than a good nights sleep.”

Like President Lincoln and President Reagan, I am going to adhere to principles and confront the triple evils of our time – terrorism, cradle to grave intrusive government, and the fomenting of a culture of death, and work hard to fix this great nation so it once again becomes a shining beacon of hope for the rest of the world.

With your help, we will defeat the Poster Boy of Big Government and reject the President’s plan for socialized medicine. We will greatly reduce the size of the federal bureaucracy, lower taxes, implement term limits, adhere to the Constitution, stop penalizing the People for hard work and success, and return to a free enterprise system. We will create manufacturing jobs, balance the budget, strengthen the dollar, and get our financial house in order. America will once again become the economic engine that drives the world’s economy.

Abraham Lincoln and Ronald Reagan are our inspiration and our compass to victory in November. This nation shall endure! We owe it to these two great Republican leaders, and we owe it to our children and to future generations. Life, Liberty, and Prosperity. God bless us all, and God bless America. Thank you. – Earl Sholley