Well, whether he was blood-thirsty or not, Lincoln was definitely a big government liberal, whose first goal (according to his speeches) was not freeing the slaves but subjugating the South under federal control. During that process, he greatly strengthened the federal government (and conversely weakened state and local power) and rescinded personal rights like habeas corpus. Beyond that, he made it clear that he did not want to have freed slaves in white society; he wanted to send them back to Africa. Read his speeches. Read the transcripts of the Lincoln-Douglas debates.
Interesting to see so many conservatives supporting such a leftie so strongly. Perhaps it’s because he’s so iconic and has been made into such a larger-than-life mythic figure.
“Interesting to see so many conservatives supporting such a leftie so strongly.”
Yup. These sorts of threads are instuctive if for no other reason than they tend to bring out the closet authoritarians.
The tyrant lincoln was the quintessential big government leftist.
I think you hit the nail on the head with this statement;
“Interesting to see so many conservatives supporting such a leftie so strongly. Perhaps it’s because he’s so iconic and has been made into such a larger-than-life mythic figure.”
I can tell you that being born and raised in Illinois Lincoln was/is viewed as a god by many. The reverence and respect fostered in the children growing up there is obvious, and over-the-top.
As I explained to my oldest the other day here is a very over-simplified version of the Civil War as taught to me in Illinois’ public schools: Lincoln is the greatest President to have ever lived, the Civil War was completely and totally about those “ignorant racist Southerners” who ALL wanted to own black people, Lincoln freed ALL of them, and everyone was happy (except those who still to this day wish they owned slaves).