The Republican Party was invented by Abraham Lincoln in 1854 to suggest to the American people that they had a choice as to whom they elected, the Dem Cats or the Republicans (“Pubbies”). The choice, of course, was only an apparent one, born of Lincoln’s fondness for “fooling some of the people all of the time and all of the people some of the time.” A nickname for Republican Party is G. O. P. (Grand Oil Party).