Quick Pitch: Party of Lincoln at Risk By Jerome Mileur

After the Civil War, Republicans ran for office, "waving the bloody shirt," on the slogan, "Not all Democrats were traitors, but all traitors were Democrats." Donald Trump is inviting Democrats to change the terms and turn their old slogan against them.

This is why so many Republican office holders are decrying Trump's word because they don't want them to define their party. Republicans appear to be increasingly concerned that, instead of being the party of Abraham Lincoln, they are at risk of being thought the party of George Lincoln (Rockwell).

Business leaders, labor leaders, religious leaders, political leaders have all spoken out about Charlottesville. Where are our educational leaders? Where is the President of Harvard, of Yale, or a major public university? Has higher education slipped so far in the national esteem that it's leaders no longer think they have anything to contribute to conversation in the public square?

Jerry Mileur is Professor Emeritus of Political Science at The University of Massachusetts at Amherst. His most recent book, "The Stars are Back; The St. Louis Cardinals, the Boston Red Sox, and Player Unrest in 1946" (Southern Illinois University Press, 2013) combines his love for baseball and politics.