Wonderful sentiment, and I couldn't agree with it more -- and I value Congressman Bacon, very much -- but ... a piece from the first weeks of the Standard: https://t.co/bMV0yliY9a cc: @jpitney @BillKristol pic.twitter.com/NIRvnjX7Lt
— Jay Nordlinger (@jaynordlinger) February 16, 2025
Scott Powell at Townhall:
After his reelection for a second term, shortly before his assassination, Lincoln observed that “…corporations have been enthroned and an era of corruption in high places will follow, and the money power of the country will endeavor to prolong its reign by working upon the prejudices of the people until all wealth is aggregated in a few hands and the Republic is destroyed.”
While he could not have foreseen the transformations in the U.S. economy, Lincoln was remarkably prescient. It is now obvious that the aggregation and concentration of wealth in the information technology, the military/defense, and the pharmaceutical industries today are major factors in undermining our Constitutional First Amendment rights. Free speech, which roots out falsehood and helps reveal the truth, is an absolute cornerstone of the republic.
Populists concocted this one in the late 19th century, and Lincoln's private aide called it a "bald, unblushing forgery." Not only did Lincoln never say these words, they were at odds with his thinking, as Andrew Ferguson explained years ago: "A corporate lawyer whose long and cunning labor on behalf of the railroads earned him a comfortable income, Lincoln was a vigorous champion of market capitalism, even when it drifted (as it tends to do) toward large concentrations of wealth."
