A Dinner That Abe Lincoln Would Not Want To Attend - And Response (5)

The Calvary Chapel Wing of the Hamilton County Republican Party is having a fish-fry fundraiser on July 12 at the Chattanoogan.

Although it’s still billed as The Lincoln Day Dinner, Honest Abe would hate to have his name associated with such a spectacle. With Marjorie Taylor Greene as the headliner, we can picture President Lincoln, the author and orator of the Gettysburg Address listening to Marjorie Taylor Greene “spout-off” about Jewish space lasers causing fires in California. Maybe Abe will get a chuckle when she claims Democrats can control the weather, sending hurricanes and tornadoes into the South. As a parent himself, I’m sure our 16th President would love to hear more from Marjorie about the fake school shootings and how the 9-11 attack was an “inside job”.

Inviting Marjorie Taylor Greene to headline this fish-fry tells me one thing: The Hamilton County Republican Party is no longer the “Party of Lincoln.”

I believe that this current “version” of the Hamilton County Republican Party would disgust the man. Lincoln emphasized unity and the inclusion of all Americans regardless of their specific religious affiliations. His moral stance on slavery stemmed from his belief in human rights and justice which align more with universal moral principles than the tenants of Christian nationalism.

For every thing that Abraham Lincoln stood for, the current “version” of Hamilton County Republican Party actively politics against. Zealously.

There won’t be a dinner for Abe Lincoln on July 12. It will be his funeral. RIP.

C. Mark Warren

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In the 2024 general election (only eight months ago), Marjorie Taylor Greene (MTG) was reelected to represent her Congressional district by 64.4 percent of the electorate – nearly two-thirds of her voting constituents. Additionally, she was unopposed in the Republican primary. That would seem to indicate she has broad popular support from her constituents who know her best. Talk about “unity and inclusion.”

The other speaker headlining the Hamilton County GOP’s Lincoln Day Dinner July 12 will be Congressman Tim Burchett, who represents our neighboring 2^nd District. Why no comment about Congressman Burchett, Mr. Warren? I suspect he votes about 95 percent of the time with MTG. Perhaps he’s the speaker you would buy a ticket to listen to? I hope so.

Mr. Warren references alleged “universal moral principles” in his letter, which raises the question, just which principles is he referencing? And where did they originate? As an attorney, he is certainly aware that much of our law derives from religious principles, historically Christian principles. Much of English Common Law, which serves as the basis of much of our foundational law, originally developed from Biblical law.

The continued screed against members of Calvary Chapel Church – an echo of the religious intolerance demonstrated over the past year in the pages of the local newspaper – is a smokescreen that is meant to hide a more general, anti-Christian bias. First, it’s important to point out that other members besides the county GOP chairman, Ms. Greene, mostly attend/profess faith in other Christian churches, as do active members of the party itself.

Finally, Mr. Warren used what I perceive as bigoted cheap shot by his “fish fry” derision of the Lincoln Day dinner – an apparent reference to the practice of some Catholic organizations (like the Knights of Columbus) who do Friday fish fries during Lent. So who’s really undermining “unity and inclusion,” Mr. Warren? You might try reciting the Pledge of Allegiance, which includes the declarative statement, “… one nation under God” - which was added under the Eisenhower Administration after a nationwide petition organized by … the Knights of Columbus.

When we forget that true unity can be found only “under God,” from whom our civilization has gotten its most basic laws, we forget the only true source of unity for our nation.

Brendan Jennings

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Mark, I hate to break it to you, but Abraham Lincoln would hardly be shocked, let alone offended, by a dinner featuring outspoken Christians. In fact, if we’re going to invoke Lincoln, let’s be historically honest: he held beliefs that today would be called unapologetically Christian and National in character.

You mention the Gettysburg Address as if it proves Lincoln would reject today’s conservatives. But let’s not cherry-pick history. This tribute to soldiers who gave "the last full measure of devotion" is laser-focused on equality, civil rights, and moral progress—with an emphasis, of course, on the "great civil war." And in the midst of that bloody conflict, President Lincoln called the nation to a day of humiliation, fasting, and prayer, explaining:

"It is the duty of nations as well as of men to own their dependence upon the overruling power of God, to confess their sins and transgressions in humble sorrow, yet with assured hope that genuine repentance will lead to mercy and pardon, and to recognize the sublime truths announced in the Holy Scriptures and proven by all history, that those nations only are blessed whose God is the Lord."

That is not the language of a secular progressive. That is the voice of a man deeply rooted in biblical faith and moral clarity.

You assert that Lincoln “emphasized unity and the inclusion of all Americans regardless of their specific religious affiliations.” But the unity Lincoln pursued was not one stripped of moral absolutes or religious conviction. In his Second Inaugural Address, Lincoln declared that God willed the war would not end until "every drop of blood drawn with the lash" had been paid for with "another drawn with the sword." That is not relativism - that is biblical justice.

Even President Theodore Roosevelt recognized Lincoln’s spiritual depth. He wrote:

"Lincoln—sad, patient, kindly Lincoln...laid down his life for the people whom living he had served so well. He built up his entire reading upon his early study of the Bible. He had mastered it absolutely—mastered it so that he became almost 'a man of one Book,' who knew that Book and who instinctively put into practice what he had been taught therein."

Lincoln himself said of Scripture,

“It is the best gift God has given to man... All the good the Savior gave to the world was communicated through this Book. Without it, we could not know right from wrong.”

Lincoln was not some soft-focus figure of vague “values.” He was a man of deep, lived-out Christian conviction. He zealously stood for the God of the Bible. He understood repentance, judgment, mercy, and truth. That’s the Lincoln many conservatives today - imperfect as we all are - still look to for moral inspiration.

So before declaring Lincoln’s legacy dead at a fish fry, maybe take a closer look at what he actually believed. You might just find that the real problem isn’t who’s speaking at the dinner - it’s how far our culture has drifted from the God Lincoln knew we’d one day answer to.

Rebecca Day

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Abraham Lincoln once said, “The dogmas of the quiet past are inadequate to the stormy present.” He was no stranger to controversy, nor was he universally admired in his day. In fact, he was routinely ridiculed and harshly criticized - much like many modern conservatives who dare to challenge the political status quo.

That’s precisely why Lincoln would be proud to have his name attached to a dinner hosted by people who still believe in the foundational principles he fought to preserve: the dignity of the individual, equal opportunity under the law, and a government of the people - not above them.

Lincoln was a Republican who believed in liberty, limited government, and personal responsibility. He used biblical references unapologetically in speeches. He called on the nation to fast and pray. He didn’t see faith and patriotism as contradictions - he saw them as complementary forces for good.

As for Marjorie Taylor Greene: You don’t have to agree with everything she says (and many don’t) to recognize that she was duly elected by her constituents and that she unapologetically champions conservative values. She shows up, speaks plainly, and doesn’t back down from uncomfortable fights. Whether you like her or not, that’s more in line with Lincoln’s own political grit than the genteel revisionism offered above.

Lincoln stood in the fire of his time. He didn’t shrink back when things got messy. He understood that preserving the Union and the values it stood for required real people with real courage. If anything, that spirit - not sanitized soundbites or virtue-signaling op-eds - is exactly what we’re honoring on July 12.

No, Lincoln’s funeral won’t be held at The Chattanoogan.

We will be celebrating the living legacy of a man who, like many of us today, took the hits and stayed the course - for freedom, for faith, and for our future.

Not too late to get your tickets to celebrate with the Hamilton County Republican Party.

Cynthia Fain

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Mr. Warren coming in hot, with total disdain for any viewpoint not his own, as usual. However, he’s not wrong that MTG and Abe wouldn’t see eye to eye. Their own words:

“[B]allots are the rightful and peaceful successors of bullets, and … when ballots have fairly and constitutionally decided there can be no successful appeal back to bullets.” - Lincoln

“January 6 was just a riot at the Capitol and if you think about what our Declaration of Independence says, it says to overthrow tyrants.” - Greene

And again:

“Let north and south — let all Americans — let all lovers of liberty everywhere — join in the great and good work. If we do this, we shall not only have saved the Union; but we shall have so saved it, as to make, and to keep it, forever worthy of the saving.” - Lincoln

“We need a national divorce. We need to separate by red states and blue states and shrink the federal government. Everyone I talk to says this. From the sick and disgusting woke culture issues shoved down our throats to the Democrat’s traitorous America Last policies, we are done.” - Greene

Ms. Greene may be many things (a bull in a china shop comes to mind), but the natural successor to Honest Abe she is not.

Charles McCullough