| | A '''RINO''' ('''R'''epublican '''i'''n '''N'''ame '''O'''nly), describes politicians who claim to be Republican but are in fact [[liberal]], and therefore generally debase the winning conservative coalition base of the Republican Party. The term is used to characterize an officeholder or candidate who is a member of the [[Republican Party]], but holds views outside the mainstream Republican Party such as support for raising taxes, abortion as a right, gay rights and gun control. RINOs and Reform Democrats typically come from [[New England]] or West Coast states. A less-used term is '''cafeteria conservative''', for a person who picks and chooses which [[conservative]] principles to believe, as a person might choose foods in a cafeteria instead of ordering the full-course ''menu'' selected by the chef at high-class restaurants.<ref>[http://www.manp.org/association-spotlight/archives/james-carville-mary-matalin-he-said-she-said James Carville & Mary Matalin: He Said, She Said]</ref> In contrast to RINO's and cafeteria conservatives, [[movement conservative]]s understand that since conservative philosophy is a coherent whole, it is untenable to discard part of it without discarding all of it. | | A '''RINO''' ('''R'''epublican '''i'''n '''N'''ame '''O'''nly), describes politicians who claim to be Republican but are in fact [[liberal]], and therefore generally debase the winning conservative coalition base of the Republican Party. The term is used to characterize an officeholder or candidate who is a member of the [[Republican Party]], but holds views outside the mainstream Republican Party such as support for raising taxes, abortion as a right, gay rights and gun control. RINOs and Reform Democrats typically come from [[New England]] or West Coast states. A less-used term is '''cafeteria conservative''', for a person who picks and chooses which [[conservative]] principles to believe, as a person might choose foods in a cafeteria instead of ordering the full-course ''menu'' selected by the chef at high-class restaurants.<ref>[http://www.manp.org/association-spotlight/archives/james-carville-mary-matalin-he-said-she-said James Carville & Mary Matalin: He Said, She Said]</ref> In contrast to RINO's and cafeteria conservatives, [[movement conservative]]s understand that since conservative philosophy is a coherent whole, it is untenable to discard part of it without discarding all of it. |
| | The targets of attack argue they follow middle of the road policies and are not liberals; they claim they get results, and insist that without them the Congress would be totally controlled by liberal Democrats and Republicans would rarely have any success. Conservatives respond that in the heyday of "Rockefeller liberalism" in the GOP the Democrats always controlled Congress, and the GOP only took power when [[Newt Gingrich]] launched a national conservative "Contract with America" in 1994, ending 40 years of Democratic control of the House. | | The targets of attack argue they follow middle of the road policies and are not liberals; they claim they get results, and insist that without them the Congress would be totally controlled by liberal Democrats and Republicans would rarely have any success. Conservatives respond that in the heyday of "Rockefeller liberalism" in the GOP the Democrats always controlled Congress, and the GOP only took power when [[Newt Gingrich]] launched a national conservative "Contract with America" in 1994, ending 40 years of Democratic control of the House. |