[Lazamataz]

Lincoln (founder of the GOP)said, "Thank God I am not a free trader".

Nossir. The quotes are:

• "Give me a tariff and I will give you the greatest nation on earth." -- Abraham Lincoln
• "Prosperity is the trophy of a protective tariff." -- McKinley
• "I thank God I am not a free trader." -- Teddy Roosevelt

[Cacophonous]

I stand corrected. Proudly.

[Alberta's Child]

I agree with all of those statements, but you have to understand them in the context of their times. Notice that every one of these U.S. Presidents served before the Constitution was amended to permit the government to collect income taxes.

When these quotes were uttered, the tariff was one of the few methods the government had to collect revenue.