The Party of Lincoln is Now the Party of Stinkin'.

My Dad was a Republican. I wouldn’t say he was a “proud” one, especially after Goldwater became its presidential nominee in 1964, but rather a “loyal” one, working hard for his boss, New York State Sen. Thomas C. Desmond, in the 1930s and doing his best to see that Desmond got reelected again and again.

Albert J. Abrams was a classic “Rocky Republican,” admiring the policy positions of our liberal Governor Nelson Rockefeller and flying with him (and their colleague Jackie Robinson) to the Republican National Convention in San Francisco in 1964 in a doomed attempt to prevent Goldwater from getting the GOP nod. Dad looked upon Desmond, Rocky, Jackie and other Republicans of his day as smart, good-hearted, forward-thinking and open-minded, and optimistically believed they represented the “silent majority” of their party.

Hear that buzzing sound? That’s Dad, spinning in his grave.