How Does a Republican Become a "RINO"?
By anniepa
@anniepa (27955)
United States
October 17, 2010 8:45pm CST
I'm being totally serious here; it seems the very worst thing a conservative can call a member of the GOP is "RINO" and these days it seems there are more and more of them, although I really haven't seen much evidence of their existence. I know there are some very polariing issues between the two parties, so exactly how many of them does one have to be "wrong" on to not be "right" enough and therefore be a "RINO"?
Here are a few examples of those divisive issues:
A woman's right to choose; now it seems a "true" conservative doesn't even allow for the exceptions for rape and incest.
Immigration; I guess any chance at all for an immigrant to redeem him or herself and become a LEGAL resident and eventually a citizen is off the table.
Health care reform; the "free market" aka the "status quo" is IT, right?
Minimum wage; does anyone REALLY want to abolish it?
Gay marriage and equal rights; do they now have to ban them from teaching to not be banned from the party?
Unemployment compensation; should we let the spoiled, lazy loafers starve instead?
Tax cuts for the rich; somehow it doesn't matter if they increase the deficit and debt.
There are others but the above is enough for starters. My questions is, does it take just one or more than one of these issues to make someone a "RINO" or is it simply someone who is willing to EVER work with a Democrat on ANYTHING?
Just asking...
Annie
1 person likes this
8 responses
@artistry (4152)
• United States
20 Oct 10
...Hey there annie, Here you are. Want to know how you become a RINO, agree or vote with or for anything that Obama proposes. Look for the name RINO to be stamped on your mailbox and forehead the very next day. It is amazing, doing the last 18 months or so, there have been Republicans who suggested bills prior to
Obama coming out for them, what happened when he joined them, oh no I don't want to put that up, that's not the right thing to do. They are stone cold nuts in their desire to topple him and his agenda. But lookie, lookie President Obama managed to get through more legislation than any recent president including Lyndon Johnson, now that's making history much to the chargin of some. Shows you what determination can do. A lion can take on a rino and his friends anytime. "o) Take it easy.
1 person likes this
@lilwonders456 (8214)
• United States
21 Oct 10
Especially with congress not bothering to actually read the bills before they vote on them....much less give the american public time to read them before they vote.
@artistry (4152)
• United States
21 Oct 10
...xfachtor, I think it is better than not getting anything passed which is probably what will happen the next two years. "o)
...lilwonders, Is that any different than other Congresses? The staffs do the reading and outlining and they go from there. Been done that way for years on end. Only a few very interested people read the bills or the ones who wrote them. Take it easy.
1 person likes this
@matersfish (6306)
• United States
18 Oct 10
This is one of the biggest problems I have with either party. You seem to have to fit into a box, safely and neatly, or else you're this or that...
I think anyone confining themselves to principles already laid out for you is just bogus.
I've been criticized on here before about my opinion changing on something. Well, KMA! I always attempt to be open to things, and I'll certainly change my view on something as I evolve as a person and learn more about it.
Living is learning, and learning is a process. If you're not in the middle for the vast majority of things in life, then you're probably not much of a free thinker at all. I'd personally like our politicians to be innovative and original. They're not. Either side.
Almost everything has room for questioning. Almost everything has room for improvement. Almost everything, at least in a political context, has multiple answers.
That aside: I do realize this is primarily a dig at the right, so I won't get into how the other side does the exact same thing. They're different sides of the same coin.
But I will point out that Obama's talking point arrow about free market = status quo isn't accurate in the least.
We're not that far removed from healthcare, and I think we'd all do well, no matter which side we fall on, to admit nobody, outside of the strict lunatics, wanted things to stay the same. I recall a lot of Republicans imploring President Obama and other liberals to change healthcare - just not the type of changes liberals wanted.
And there's a lot of other stuff in there that's just begging for a "Yeah, well, if __ wasn't in there, __ would be okay."
But anyway...
Too many people have brains made of Lego pieces. Everything just stacks up in order and must stay that way for structure. They refuse to change or lose a piece.
What's wrong with letting the world fix your view instead of forcing your view to fix the world? It's something I'll never understand about humanity in general.
1 person likes this
@anniepa (27955)
• United States
18 Oct 10
You'll probably be shocked about this, but I agree with most of what you've written! I couldn't agree more that there's nothing wrong with changing one's view on something. I'm an old lady compared to many here but I'm still learning and growing and hope to continue doing so until the day I die. I also didn't mean to imply the Democrats or the left are without fault because they're certainly NOT. However, this was specifically about the seemingly rapidly growing number of RINOs the tea part and right wing of the GOP - which are one and the same in many cases - are systematically running out of the party.
To me, these are and were people who are closer to the middle, where I agree most of us are, and who also are willing to learn and grow. Sometimes "learning and growing" means learning something from the other side or at least agreeing to compromise with them. That's certainly GONE in this day and age.
Annie
@matersfish (6306)
• United States
18 Oct 10
Nah. I'm not shocked. Common sense is common sense, and unless a person is a strict loon, there's always a time to call a spade a spade.
@HawaiiGopher (1009)
• Belgium
18 Oct 10
Anyone in the Republic Main Street Partnership?
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Republican_Main_Street_Partnership
1 person likes this
@xfahctor (14118)
• Lancaster, New Hampshire
18 Oct 10
*waves magic wand*
*POOF!*
You're now a rhino! Oh, sorry congressman, that isn't what you meant? But that horn makes you look so...so virile.
Ok, serious answer now...lol, sorry, I couldn't resist. I have generally avoided ever really using that term. Many use it to describe what they see as a democrat in republican clothing. That is a bit confusing to me because for the most part, that's all I see when I look at the republican party....or is it republicans in democrat clothing? *shrug8 I dunno, they all look pretty much the same to me these days. I look at all of them and all I see are statists.
I guess if you want to answer your question we would have to go back through the history of the republican party, look at care beliefs of theirs that have always been there and see who does and doesn't match up with them today in the party, and go around and distribute horns to them?
1 person likes this
@anniepa (27955)
• United States
18 Oct 10
No, I haven't noticed you using the word much, if at all, but it sure is a favorite among many others here. I know we're looking at different things, but I can't believe you think the two parties look the same! Are you saying, for example, Alan Grayson and Michele Bachmann have ANYTHING in common?
My point of this discussion was that it doesn't take much at all for a Republican to become a "RINO" in the eyes of the conservatives and therefore disposable. I think they're hurting the party, which I couldn't care less about, and they're hurting the country, which I DO care about. If there are many of the current crop of tea party candidates actually elected it's only going to get worse.
Annie
@spalladino (17891)
• United States
18 Oct 10
I think it depends on the person using the word against someone...usually because they disagree with one or more opinions a moderate Republican holds. I've been called a RINO on here so many times that I've lost count!
1 person likes this
@spalladino (17891)
• United States
18 Oct 10
LOL, no you don't! When being middle of the road, having your own opinions that don't necessarily fall in line with the far side of either spectrum, is considered worthy of applying an insulting title to that person, something is very wrong with the person using the title.
@lilwonders456 (8214)
• United States
18 Oct 10
Ok...well I am sure there are people (republicans) that use that term anytime a republican does not do something they like. But honestly....the serious answer is a RINO (republican in name only) is a politican that uses the republican party to get elected without supporting most of it's ideals. They don't have to agree with all of them. But why run on a party ticket for a party you don't agree with or have anything in common with?
Now there are a lot of definations of what a "true" conservative is. The religious right thinks they are the only "true" ones. Libertarians think they are...moderates think they are...Neocons think they are. Each person thinks "their" views are the only right ones. When in truth the party (both parties) are very diverse in their thinking and views. So is the voting public.
So there is not a real "true" conservative as far as all of them agreeing on all the same things. Just like with the democratic party. The "blue dogs" have taken a lot of heat in the past 2 years for not being "true" liberals and voting with "their" party on some key things.
Now all of that being said I think if someone is going to run on or be in any of the parties they should at least have the same core beliefs as the party. Not on everything...but definately on key subjects.
For the republican party those would be (just my opinion)
1. Fiscal responsibility (boy that makes a ton of them RINOs right there)
2. Free Market
3. Small unintrusive federal government
4. Lower taxes (I earned it, why shouldn't I get to keep more of it?)
5. Adhering to the Constitution (that makes a bunch of them RINOs too)
If you don't believe in these things....why run on the republican ticket?
Yes there are other issues that are important...but I think these are the ones that most republicans can agree on therefore making them "core issues".
You will get people who will call a candidate at "RINO" if they "reach across the isle"...because they are caught up in the US vs Them thing. But in honesty...what the republican party wants and what the democrat party wants are soooo different that it makes compromise without going against eachs core beliefs very difficult.
I would not call a Republican a RINO for trying to get work things out with the other members of congress (notice I did not say party...because it just furthers the US vs Them mentality). As long as he or she did not go against core beliefs or seem to just go along with whatever the majority wanted all the time without representing the will of the people in the state who elected him or her.
At the end of the day that is their job....to represent the will of the people of their state. Now working out a deal or compromising is great...as long as people of the state agree with the deal or the compromise that is being proposed.
1 person likes this
@anniepa (27955)
• United States
21 Oct 10
It USED to mean what you said - a Republican who doesn't support MOST of the party's ideals. However, these days it seems like if they look at the wrong person sideways they're called a RINO.
Just for fun, I decided to go through your list of core beliefs:
1. Fiscal responsibility
I'll bet if you polled a million people the vast majority of them would claim to be fiscally responsible. That's something that I guess is open to interpretation, unless you're advocating cutting everything no matter who will be hurt by the cuts. To me it's all about prioritizing the spending, like fiscally responsible families have to do. I think by today's standards, someone who wants to spend money to extend unemployment at a cost of around $30 billion is a RINO while someone who want to extend tax cuts on the wealthiest among us at a cost of nearly $800 billion is a good fiscal conservative.
2. Free Market
Does that include no wanting to hold Wall Street bankers or BP and other oil companies accountable for their actions? Does that mean there should be no regulations or price controls no matter who gets hurt?
3. Small unintrusive federal government
This is one that really gets me; on one hand they want a "small, unintrusive federal government", especially when it comes to regulating or taxing corporations and keeping them from sending jobs overseas but on the most personal issues they think they can tell us what to do.
4. Lower taxes (I earned it, why shouldn't I get to keep more of it?)
They apparently don't realize we paid less in federal taxes last year than we have in years. Over 95% of us got a tax cut. Also, while none of us like to pay taxes, we all like safe roads and bridges, police and fire protection and other services.
5. Adhering to the Constitution (that makes a bunch of them RINOs too)
For many, it's only the parts of the Constitution they like, such as the 2nd Amendment.
It seems like these days all but the VERY far right Republicans are considered RINOs. Apparently this scared John McCain into becoming an entirely different person! He was once reasonable and sometimes - not often, but sometimes - moderate but he was called a RINO by the crazies like Ann Coulter and Rush Limbaugh so now he's way out there with them.
Annie
@gewcew23 (8007)
• United States
18 Oct 10
It is amazing how conservative or an obstructionist you have to be to prevent earning the label of a RINO these days. Think of all the GOP Presidents from the top half of the 20th century, Eisenhower, Nixon, Ford, Reagan, Bush 41, and Bush 43. I can make a case that all even Reagan would not have been spared the title RINO by some.
1 person likes this
@anniepa (27955)
• United States
18 Oct 10
I know. I heard about a "purity list" a few months ago and some commentators on TV said Ronald Reagan would have failed it. It seems that they have to be in lockstep with the Jim DeMented wing of the GOP or else they're RINOs.
I think it should stand for "Reasonable Individuals, Not Obstructionists"!
Annie
@ZephyrSun (7381)
• United States
18 Oct 10
In my own opinion I feel that the "right" that are now "RINO's" are just moderates that have been isolated by the party because of the extreme beliefs of the conservatives.
1 person likes this