Excerpt...
2004 Republican Party Platform:
A Safer World and a More Hopeful America
RONALD REAGAN
believed that people were basically good, and had the right to be free.
He believed that bigotry and prejudice were the worst things a person could be guilty of.
He believed in the Golden Rule and in the power of prayer.
He believed that America was not just a place in the world, but the hope of the world.
As Ronald Wilson Reagan goes his way, we are left with a joyful hope he shared.
May God bless Ronald Reagan and the country he loved.
________
President George W. Bush
Funeral Service for Former President Ronald Wilson Reagan
Washington National Cathedral
Washington, D.C.
June 11, 2004
INTRODUCTION AND PREAMBLE
________
One hundred and fifty years ago, Americans who had gathered to protest the
expansion of slavery gave birth to a political Party that would save the Union – the
Republican Party.
In 1860, Abraham Lincoln of Illinois carried the Republican banner in the
Presidential election and was elected the Party’s first President. He became our nation’s
greatest leader … and one of our Party’s greatest heroes.
Every day, we strive to fulfill Lincoln’s vision: a country united and free, in
which all people are guaranteed equal rights and the opportunity to pursue their dreams.
His legacy goes beyond the borders of America. It can be seen in free governments all
over the world.
Lincoln’s successors have been united by a common purpose – defending
freedom at home and promoting it abroad. Today, the Republican Party gathers to re nominate
a man who carries on the best traditions of our Party by carrying the banner of
freedom.
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