RINO

Sergeant Jesse Kelly runs for Congress in Arizona in 2009 and attacks the RINOs in the GOP

A RINO (Republican in Name Only), 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. In contrast to RINO's and cafeteria conservatives, movement conservatives 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.

In recent Republican primaries, voters have been rejecting establishment RINOs in favor of those with stronger conservative principles.

RINOs

• Senator Olympia J. Snowe of Maine

• Senator Susan Collins of Maine

• Senator George Voinovich of Ohio

• Senator Lindsey Graham of South Carolina

• Senator Scott Brown of Massachusetts

• Senator Chuck Grassley of Iowa

• Senator Lisa Murkowski of Alaska

• Former Senator Gordon Smith of Oregon

• Congressman Michael Castle of Delaware

• Congressman Mark Kirk of Illinois

• Congressman Joseph Cao of Louisiana

• Former Congressman Christopher Shays of Connecticut

• Former Congressman Joe Scarborough of Florida

• Former Congressman Tom Campbell of California

• Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger of California

• Governor Linda Lingle of Hawaii

• Former Secretary of State Colin Powell

• Former Governor George Pataki of New York

• Former Governor and Environmental Protection Agency Administrator Christine Todd Whitman of New Jersey

• Former New York City Mayor Rudy Giuliani

• Former United States Secretary of Homeland Security Tom Ridge.

• Former Senator Charles Mathias of Maryland

• Former New York Congressional Candidate Dede Scozzafava

• Transportation Secretary Ray Lahood

Former RINOs

• Senator Arlen Specter of Pennsylvania, who became a Democrat in 2009.

• Former Senator Lincoln Chafee of Rhode Island, who became an Independent in 2007.

• Former Senator Lowell Weicker of Connecticut, who became an Independent.

• New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg, who became an Independent.

• Former Senator Jim Jeffords of Vermont, who left the Party in 2001, giving control of the Senate to the Democrats

• Governor Charlie Crist of Florida, who became an independent after it was clear he would lose his Senate bid.

McCain Speculation

Some conservatives distrust John McCain and even call him a RINO, but his policies are that of a true conservative. Key RINO principles include support for gay rights, support for abortion, and support for earmarks: John McCain is against these positions. He has always worked in a bi-partisan fashion, reaching across the aisle whenever possible. The sacrifices he has made for this country cannot be overlooked, and his commitment to his duties is second to none. His fiscal conservatism, his support for families, and support for a strong national defense are in line with conservative, Reagan Republicans.

External Links

• In Senate primary, California Republicans run away from RINO label

See Also

• Republican Party
• Moderate Republican
• Conservative Democrat
• Blue Dog Democrat
• Reagan Democrat
• Catholic in name only
• Liberal media conservative