50 Capitols | Official 50 Capitols in 50 Days Press Release

BURR RIDGE, ILLINOIS–Some baseball fans organize visits to all of the major league ballparks; others make treks to a list of prominent golf courses.

Starting Tuesday, Sept. 4, a patriotic businessman from the Land of Lincoln and a Chicago suburb will attempt a cross-country trip in the spirit of Abraham Lincoln that he calls “50 Capitols in 50 Days…a patriotic pilgrimage.”

He is Mickey Straub and he’s embarking on an historic journey which will begin in Gettysburg, Pennsylvania and conclude in Springfield, Illinois. He hopes to only need to fly to Hawaii and Alaska.

Straub says he is attempting the historic trip for personal and patriotic reasons. He has long wanted to visit every state’s capitol building and says he “prefers to have big goals with short deadlines.”

More importantly, he wants to encourage all Americans to re-read the Gettysburg Address and to honor our veterans, the main reason why Lincoln was asked to make “a few appropriate remarks” at the November 1863 dedication.

On the steps of each Capitol, Straub is going to “invite to recite”. That is, he’s going to invite residents to join him on the steps in reciting the Gettysburg Address. When they do, he hopes they will realize how that “great task” and “unfinished work” Lincoln referred to is ongoing and continues today.

“I have always felt a strong connection to Abraham Lincoln, our first Republican President,” Mickey says, “because of his values, his commitment to saving the union and because of Lincoln’s connection to my birth state (Pennsylvania) and my adopted state (Illinois).”

Ultimately, Straub hopes that Americans will recommit to Lincoln’s core principles and that of our founders: God, Liberty, Unity and Equality. Those principles were prominent in the Gettysburg Address and throughout Lincoln’s life. “In times of trouble, we tend to go back to our roots. This is such a time.” Straub said.

Concerned with the direction of the country, Straub believes, “We need to reclaim Lincoln’s core principles and have a new birth of freedom to help ensure that it long endures.”

Straub, who grew up a Democrat and is now a Republican, said his trip is “not about party or politics, but principles and patriotism.” He chose Fall 2012 for the trip, “because presidential elections are time when we all focus on what it means to be an American.”

“When people think about Lincoln’s core values, they don’t necessarily think of God first,” Straub notes, “but an examination of Lincoln reveals that he did. His most enduring speeches show the depth of the 16th President’s spiritual focus “from the Lincoln-Douglas debates and his Farewell Address in Springfield to the Gettysburg Address,” Straub said.“

In his second inaugural address, Lincoln refers to God 14 times in just 701 words.” While in each capitol building, Straub will ask, “Is God still in the Capitol?” and look for all references, tangible and intangible, as a way to assess each state’s spiritual focus.

Straub is the president of a national performance measurement and management company in Burr Ridge, Ill. He is also the founder of Proud to be Republican, LLC, an independent non-profit dedicated to preserving America’s principles.

For more information (including an updated blog and details) or if you want to help with lodging, donating or driving, visit www.50CapitolsIn50Days.com or www.ReclaimingLincoln.com. (All net proceeds will benefit veterans’ organizations.)

A Note on the Author of this Press Release:

We’re proud to note that the author of this release was the late Peter D. Hannaford, a political consultant and speech writer to California Governor and U.S. President Ronald Regan. Hannaford was a veteran and conservative author with a demonstrated lifelong commitment to the values of Lincoln: God – Unity – Liberty – Patriotism.