Why a Conservative Republican Is Paying Tribute to a Progressive Democrat

Yes, you read that headline right. Dale Glading, the publisher of the Conservative to the Core newsletter and a two-time Republican candidate for the U.S. House of Representatives, has volunteered to pay tribute to a Progressive Democrat.

And not just any Progressive Democrat, mind you, but one who served as his party’s presidential nominee a record three times!

Now before you think I have completely lost my mind and have gone over to the dark side, the gentleman I am referring to topped the Democratic ticket in 1896, 1900, and 1908… long before the Democrat Party sold its collective soul and decided to promote open borders, late-term abortions, transgenderism, forced vaccinations, and biological men playing women’s sports while using ladies’ locker rooms.

Allow me to introduce you to William Jennings Bryan, forever known as "The Great Commoner" because of his empathy for the long-oppressed common man.

A two-term congressman from Nebraska, Bryan captivated the 1896 Democratic National Convention in Chicago with his famous “Cross of Gold” speech, which catapulted the 36-year-old to the party’s nomination. Although he lost to Republican William McKinley that fall and again in 1900, Bryan continued to push his Progressive and Populist platform.

OK, I think an explanation is in order.

Back then, a Progressive and a Populist was someone who defended the interests of the working class at a time when they were being manipulated and mistreated by Wall Street bankers and the corporate monopolies created by John D. Rockefeller, J.P. Morgan, Andrew Carnegie, and Cornelius Vanderbilt. Together, these four men controlled the vast majority of the wealth, industry, and commerce during America’s Gilded Age of the 1870s through the 1890s.

There is a reason why these men and their cronies were referred to as “robber barons”.

There is also a reason why Theodore Roosevelt, a hero to many modern-day Republicans, was both a Progressive and a Populist. In fact, Roosevelt, a rock-ribbed Republican if there ever was one, ran for president in 1912 on the Progressive or “Bull Moose” ticket.

So, in other words, being a Progressive and a Populist wasn’t a bad thing back at the turn of the 20th century. On the contrary, it was considered by many to be the default Christian position.

Among the causes that William Jennings Bryan championed were women’s suffrage, child labor laws, a 40-hour work week, a minimum wage, and safer working conditions for all Americans at a time when factories, mines, and other workplaces were literal deathtraps. He also pushed for presidential primaries so that ordinary people would have a voice instead of nominees being chosen at conventions by party bosses and political insiders. Bryan also lobbied for the direct election of U.S. senators instead of having state legislators select someone from their own ranks.

After being defeated by William Howard Taft in 1908 in his third and final campaign for the presidency, Bryan turned his full attention to social causes. A devout Presbyterian, he was a leading supporter of Prohibition and a staunch defender of the biblical version of creation (more on that later). When Woodrow Wilson was elected president in 1912, he asked Bryan to serve as his Secretary of State, a position he held for three years until he felt that Wilson was pushing the United States into World War I. Having served as a colonel in the Spanish-American War, Bryan supported the proper use of military force but, like George Washington before him, he opposed unnecessary involvement in foreign wars.

Bryan dedicated the last decade of his life to defending the biblical account of creation (can you imagine a modern-day Democrat doing that?) He considered evolution an unproven theory and thought that it should only be taught as a hypothesis, not as scientific fact. At a time when eugenics was gaining a strong foothold in the scientific community, Bryan had the foresight to see that teaching evolution could lead to the development of a master race – and the elimination of so-called undesirables – which is exactly what happened in Nazi Germany in the 1930s and 1940s.

Ironically, one of the leading proponents of eugenics in America was Margaret Sanger, the founder of Planned Parenthood, whose ultimate goal was to eradicate blacks and mentally-challenged people from society. And so, I think it’s safe to say that William Jennings Bryan would not be welcome in today’s Democrat Party (nor would he want to be) because of its unholy alliance with Planned Parenthood.

Because of Bryan’s reputation as one of the country’s greatest orators as well as his strong biblical convictions, he was a natural choice to serve as the prosecuting attorney at the Scopes Monkey Trial in July 1925. On his way to Tennessee for the trial from his home in Miami (Bryan was an avid promoter of Florida real estate), Bryan stopped in Vero Beach to give a speech at the incorporation of Indian River County. A granite monument outside the present-day Heritage Center marks the very spot of his historic speech.

The Scopes trial was held in Dayton, TN, July 10-21, with the American Civil Liberties Union funding the defense of John Scopes, a substitute biology teacher who had purposely violated the Butler Act by teaching evolution in a public school. Scopes was represented by Clarence Darrow, a famous defense lawyer and an admitted agnostic, who called Bryan to the stand as an expert witness on the Bible.

Liberal journalists – and H.L. Mencken, in particular – mocked Bryan’s testimony, writing that he “knew little about the science of the world” and was a symbol of “Southern ignorance and anti-intellectualism.” Subsequently, the theater production and the 1960 film “Inherit the Wind” reinforced those biased misperceptions.

The truth of the matter is that Bryan won the trial as Scopes was found guilty and fined $100 (roughly $1,800 today). Unfortunately, the searing temperatures of the outdoor trial and the unfair criticism took their toll, and Bryan suffered a fatal stroke just four days after the trial ended.

And so, a great man who was also a very good man, died in many ways a martyr’s death… which is why this "conservative to the core" Republican is determined to set the record straight by honoring William Jennings Bryan on the 100th anniversary of his last public address in Vero Beach, FL.

Here is a link to the event we are hosting at the Heritage Center on Wednesday, July 2nd. Tickets are just $10 and include light refreshments. There will also be an extensive collection of William Jennings Bryan memorabilia on display – and available for purchase – from his three presidential campaigns.

I hope to see you there!

https://www.risktakersforchrist.org/home/wj-bryan-event/