Oh, and Don, I think I partially answered your question.   In the early days of our republic, what is now the Democratic Party was officially the Democratic Republican party. Somewhere along the line they dropped the "Republican" part (probably to save printing ink), and then around the 1840s or so some upstart new "third party" picked it up and, after Lincoln made it to the penny, the $5 bill, and having his own monument and all, they weren't about to give it back.

; )