RISE GOP: 1854-2025

While I rarely find myself nodding along with the former editor and owner of the Ripon Commonwealth Press—whom I still regard as a gentleman—it seems he’s once again served up an opinion that’s as hard to swallow as it is familiar. And once again, I find myself firmly on the other side of the table.

I read with interest the recent editorial, “RIP GOP: 1854–2025”, and while I understand the emotional frustration behind its tone, I believe the conclusion fundamentally misunderstands both the historical roots of the Republican Party and Ripon’s unique place in the American story.

Ripon was not simply the “birthplace” of a political party — it was the birthplace of a principled resistance. When Alvan Bovay called for that now-famous meeting in the Little White Schoolhouse in 1854, he wasn’t creating a party to follow a man. He was helping to form a movement to follow an idea: that no human being should be property.

From the Booth War to the rescue of fugitive slaves, from Oscar LaGrange and Edward Daniel’s defiance of federal marshals to the young students who stood between their teacher and a jail cell, Ripon’s early Republicans weren’t defined by political convenience — they were defined by moral courage.

To declare or suggest the GOP dead in 2025 is to suggest that its roots have no relevance in today’s world. But I would argue the opposite: the roots still matter — deeply. Perhaps now more than ever.

Mr. Lyke is certainly entitled to his opinion, however so am I and so are you.  We are the people, and all voices matter.

What needs to be laid to rest are the shallow, performative versions of political identity that have strayed from those roots.

The challenge isn’t to bury the Republican Party; it’s to reclaim it. To remember that Ripon’s Republicans stood for abolition, liberty, and justice — even when those stands were dangerous, unpopular, or legally questionable.

Ripon’s legacy isn’t one of resignation. It’s one of resistance. It’s not RIP. It’s a call to rise.

aj