History Is To Be Believed

Considering that I have a Masters degree in American History a couple of items coming from Obama's "Pass this bill now" speech of last week struck me as odd. The Emperor was trying to show that Republicans have used the government in the past to show their strength. i.e. the people depend on the government to get them through life. Lincoln was cited as starting the Republican Party. Obama needs to have his speech writers to more research. The Republican Party was begun in 1854 when citizens of Jackson, Michigan and Ripon, Wisconsin held grassroots meetings(Tea Party, anyone) to counter the extension of slavery into Kansas and Nebraska. Lincoln had nothing to do with it. To my knowledge he never stepped foot in either state.
Secondly, Obama claimed that the government solely financed the building of the Transcontinental Railroad. Another error(lie). The railroad was financed by the issuance of bonds that were eventually paid off with interest. It's development and completion was financed by capitalism. Oh, and by the way, the railroads Union and Central Pacific, took only four years to complete this task. Today, the government couldn't build an outhouse in four years. What goes into one, however, takes place on a daily basis in Washington D.C.