Back to Basics for the Republican Party, Second Edition [Paperback]

Michael Zak (Author)

Book Description

ISBN-10: 0970006314 | ISBN-13: 978-0970006318 | Publication Date: September 3, 2001 | Edition: 2nd

"Back to Basics for the Republican Party" is an insightful history of the Grand Old Party which recounts how the party of the Emancipation Proclamation and "forty acres and a mule" developed, step by step, into today’s Republican Party, all the way through the Clinton impeachment. By explaining the party’s true heritage, "Back to Basics for the Republican Party" lays the foundation for advances in the future.

Republicans get themselves outmaneuvered by Democrats endlessly because they rely for knowledge of their own party on all those distorted histories written by hordes of lefty professors. The purpose of the book is to enable Republicans to retake the policy initiative by embracing their own heritage. The Republican elephant symbol, incidentally, predates the Thomas Nast cartoon by 14 years, having first appeared during Lincoln’s 1860 campaign, to show our party’s strength; and the Democrat donkey began as a caricature of Democrat President Andrew Jackon, as a jackass.

How many Americans know why the Republican Party began or what its original purpose was? Not many! How many Americans know, for example, that the 1964 Civil Rights Act and the 1965 Voting Rights Act were reforms that the Republican Party struggled for in vain during the Reconstruction era a hundred years earlier? Fewer still. The 13th amendment banning slavery, the 14th amendment extending the Bill of Rights to the states, and the 15th amendment according voting rights to blacks - all three were enacted by the much-maligned Radical Republicans in the face of fierce Democrat opposition. How many Americans know that? Again, very few.

Now whose fault is it that so much past glory of the Republican Party goes unnoticed today? Who should we blame? Ourselves, of course. How can we hope to convince voters to place their confidence in us when we lack confidence in our own heritage? And how can we Republicans battle Democrats effectively on economic, foreign policy, and other fronts when we act as if the world began the day we were born?

Throughout "Back to Basics for the Republican Party," we will run through our fingers the links in the chain of events between then and now. Placing events in context means reaching back to the drafting of the Constitution to describe the point of view of patriots in the 1850s who were alarmed that the slave system was extending itself northward, threatening the free market system we still cherish today. To understand this original vision of our Republican Party we look to the site of the 2000 Republican National Convention. Philadelphia is not only where the Constitution was written but where in 1856 the first Republican National Convention met in order to save it, for their generation unto ours.

One U.S. Senator called "Back to Basics for the Republican Party" "one of the best books [he] ever read," and another U.S. Senator said it is "exactly what the Republican Party needs right now." And it is! A Republican state chairman said "Back to Basics for the Republican Party" was "outstanding," and Justice Clarence Thomas’ dissent in a recent opinion (Federal Election Commission v. Colorado Republican Federal Election Committee) cited the book.

As George Orwell observed, whoever controls the past controls the future. For example, few people know that during the Reconstruction era the Ku Klux Klan was the terrorist wing of the Democratic Party, or that Republicans backed the 1964 Civil Rights Act and the 1965 Voting Rights Act much more than did the Democrats. How many people know that after being arrested for casting a ballot in the 1872 election, Susan B. Anthony boasted to Elizabeth Cady Stanton that she had voted for the straight Republican ticket?

"Our Party is an athlete who has lost his balance – we are in good shape, with plenty of drive, but until we regain our balance we are going nowhere." -- page eighteen

Though "Back to Basics for the Republican Party" is a history book, it is not about the past. It is about right now. To quote from page six: "’As knowledge is power, we must understand how trends from the past entrap us today, for ‘You shall know the truth and the truth shall set you free.’"

Editorial Reviews

Review

I have experienced firsthand an insightful, well-written, eye-opening recreation of the history of the Republican Party... -- Robert Drymalski, Chicago IL

Michael Zak's Back to Basics for the Republican Party is an insightful and astute look into our nation's political history. -- Seth Gershberg, Chicago IL

Michael Zak's book underscores the importance of really knowing your history. -- Michael Krady, Chicago IL --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

From the Publisher

Michael Zak is a popular speaker to Republican organizations around the country, showing office-holders, candidates, and activists how they would benefit tremendously from knowing and appreciating our Party's heritage of civil rights achievement. His speeches have received many excellent reviews. As he says, "The more we Republicans know about the history of our Party, the more the Democrats will worry about the future of theirs." --This text refers to an alternate Paperback edition.

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Paperback: 229 pages
• Publisher: Michael Zak; 2nd edition (September 3, 2001)
• ISBN-10: 0970006314
• ISBN-13: 978-0970006318
• Product Dimensions: 8.8 x 6.1 x 0.7 inches
• Shipping Weight: 12.8 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (64 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #4,525,190 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Most Helpful Customer Reviews

29 of 34 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars It's a GOP infomercial, September 1, 2006

By 

Patrick D. John - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Back to Basics for the Republican Party, Third Edition (Paperback)

I myself am a Black Republican, so I agree with Mr. Zak that the GOP's history on civil rights has not been fairly told. However, this book makes the same 2 errors that most GOP loyalists make when discussing Blacks and the GOP: 1) they oversimplify the ideology of the early Republicans and abolitionists. For example, notably missing from Mr. Zak's book are the following facts:that Herbert Hoover (Republican) was the first president to refuse to address the NAACP's convention, that Carter G. Woodson-the Founder of Black History Month-became so disappointed with the GOP that in the late 1920's he publicly stated that Blacks should stop being blindly loyal to the GOP, that soon after Reconstruction the GOP condoned the formation in the South of racially segregated GOP organizations, called the Lily Whites and the Black & Tans;that beginning in the 1870's Republican candidates lost elections in some Northern states because the Radical Republicans' idea of perfect equality was not embraced by most Whites, not even by most Republicans; that Lincoln was NOT a Radical Republican, he was a moderate who had ALWAYS discussed freeing the slaves ONLY in conjunction with deporting them to another country, for Lincoln openly declared that Blacks were inferior to Whites; that after the Civil War the GOP was weak nationally-since the founding of the GOP America has had 4 presidents who won by electoral vote but lost the popular vote, and all 4 were Republicans (Harrison, Hayes, Garfield, and Bush); that not all Republicans or abolitionists believed in racial equality, in fact most did NOT, they believed ONLY in ending slavery, and even on that issue they disagreed on the reasons, some were against slavery for moral reasons, others because they feared slave revolts, others because slavery competed with White labor, others because they wanted the good farmland used for more than just cotton. 2) they leave out much of how/why Blacks left the GOP in the first place: Mr. Zak's book does lay blame at the feet of Barry Goldwater, but overlooks the fact that Goldwater's victory in the GOP presidential primary obviusly says something about the views of rank and file Republicans in 1964-national civil rights legislation was clearly not a priority for most Republican voters in 1964, else Goldwater could not have won. Goldwater was just the icing on the cake. Beginning in the 1870's, the GOP began taking the Black vote for granted precisely because the Democrats were such vicious racists. Mr. Zak's book points out how the Democrats were at one point synonymous with the KKK, but he overlooks the obvious political implication for Black voters-if their only 2 choices were between the GOP and the Klan, it was an easy decision. Blacks voted for the GOP because they feared voting for the Democrats, this led to the GOP taking the Black vote for granted as the GOP moved further away from civil rights issues in order to attract more White voters, feeling confident that in doing so it would not lose Black voters. Today, it's the Democrats who take the Black vote for granted, because most Black voters are afraid of the GOP-the tables have turned.

As a Black Republican who is pro civil rights, I think what we need is a balanced review of history. This book is not balanced. Throughout history minorities have been used by the dominant group like a political footbal, and Blacks in America are no different. I'm working with some other Black Republicans to prepare a balanced view of Blacks and the GOP told from the Black perspective, not the perspective of a party loyalist.

18 of 20 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Fills a void, August 11, 2000

By 

Aaron Z. Gadouas (Chicago, Illinois USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Back to Basics for the Republican Party (Paperback)

"Back to Basics for the Republican Party" is a timely manifesto and historical overview of the ideas that define the Republican Party. As we feel inundated these days with media sound bites and empty symbolism in politics, it is easy to lose sight of the underlying organizing principals on which political parties are formed and how the parties differ from each other. The author agrues that most Republicans misunderstand or are out of touch with the party's founding ideals and therefore are not successful in promoting the party to a wider audience. He takes us through a tour of what began as "The Party of Lincoln", emphasizing individual freedom under the rule of law. The immediate political outcome was the abolition of slavery and its enforcement by war. The tour concludes by demonstrating how those underlying principals have evolved today--namely, an abhorrence of tyranny worldwide and a continuing vigorous effort to decentralize government by bringing it closer to the people.

The author brings to life the personalities, both old and modern, who shaped the Republican Party. Both history book and political essay, "Back to Basics for the Republican Party" weaves together an impressive amount of facts and anecdotes that will make you think about Republican ideals in new and interesting ways. It is a well-written, lively, and lucid contribution that will be of interest to anyone who wants to better understand the Republican Party and its roots. The book is also peppered with witticisms and "zingers" that will make you cheer or shake your head depending on where you stand.

14 of 18 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars If You're a Republican, Democrat or Independent, Read This!, October 11, 2003

By 

Michael Miller (Aiken, SC United States) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Back to Basics for the Republican Party, Third Edition (Paperback)

Just as Ann Coulter destroyed the myth of Joseph McCarthy, Michael Zak finally sets the record straight on the roots of the Republican Party. Far too often today, the descendants of slavery see the Republican Party as a racist, exclusive club for whites. Hopefully many of them will see this book, and finally learn that it was Republicans who led the fight against slavery from its outset. It was Republicans who passed the 13th , 14th and 15th Amendments as well as the civil rights acts during and after Reconstruction. Zak does not hide the skeletons either. He points out Republican corruption and incompetence, but most importantly points out the tragic mistakes that virtually handed the Democrats almost the entire African American voting block in this country. Where we as a party go from here depends heavily on our understanding of history and the extent of determination to once again become the party of inclusiveness. This does not require compromising those principles that made us the Grand Old Party, and the guarantors of freedom. We have a long way to go, and are sometimes unsure of the right direction, but just maybe Michael Zak and his excellent book will help us recalibrate our compass.