Joseph B. Margolick: We Need Another Speech Like Lincoln's at Cooper Union
Today, Feb. 27, is the 150th anniversary of Abraham Lincoln's speech at Cooper Union in New York City, which the eminent Lincoln historian Harold Holzer has called the speech that made him president. Why was his address that night so successful, and what does it mean for us today, including for President Obama? The answer is, a lot.
On Feb. 27, 1860, the nation was in mortal crisis. A crucial issue of the day was whether the Federal government could forbid the extension of slavery into U.S. territories. Senator Stephen Douglas of Illinois argued that only the territories themselves could decide this question, a position he called "popular sovereignty." He further argued, "Our fathers, when they framed the Government under which we live, understood this question just as well, and even better, than we do now."...
Lincoln's purported heirs in the Republican party are rife for such Lincoln-like treatment. They have repeatedly fought Obama on policies they supported when George W. Bush was president. For example, Republicans (including Senator John McCain and former Governor Sarah Palin) supported the bank bailouts proposed by Bush during the 2008 election campaign, but now criticize them as "big government." On presidential appointments, Republicans wanted to end the senatorial filibuster when Democrats held up some of Bush's judicial nominations, but now use the filibuster with unprecedented frequency to block anything Obama proposes and anyone he nominates. Senator Richard Shelby of Alabama criticized senators who blocked Bush's appointments, but recently attempted to hold up more than 70 Obama appointments until certain federal projects in Alabama were funded by Congress. These and other political abuses need to be exposed and highlighted with Lincoln-like vigor and derision, for the public to see and to judge....
Read entire article at The Huffington Post
On Feb. 27, 1860, the nation was in mortal crisis. A crucial issue of the day was whether the Federal government could forbid the extension of slavery into U.S. territories. Senator Stephen Douglas of Illinois argued that only the territories themselves could decide this question, a position he called "popular sovereignty." He further argued, "Our fathers, when they framed the Government under which we live, understood this question just as well, and even better, than we do now."...
Lincoln's purported heirs in the Republican party are rife for such Lincoln-like treatment. They have repeatedly fought Obama on policies they supported when George W. Bush was president. For example, Republicans (including Senator John McCain and former Governor Sarah Palin) supported the bank bailouts proposed by Bush during the 2008 election campaign, but now criticize them as "big government." On presidential appointments, Republicans wanted to end the senatorial filibuster when Democrats held up some of Bush's judicial nominations, but now use the filibuster with unprecedented frequency to block anything Obama proposes and anyone he nominates. Senator Richard Shelby of Alabama criticized senators who blocked Bush's appointments, but recently attempted to hold up more than 70 Obama appointments until certain federal projects in Alabama were funded by Congress. These and other political abuses need to be exposed and highlighted with Lincoln-like vigor and derision, for the public to see and to judge....