Difference between revisions of "RINO"
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*Former Governor [[Arnold Schwarzenegger]] of [[California]] | *Former Governor [[Arnold Schwarzenegger]] of [[California]] | ||
| − | *Former Governor [[Linda Lingle]] of Hawaii | + | *Former Governor [[Linda Lingle]] of [[Hawaii]] |
*Former Governor [[George Pataki]] of [[New York]] | *Former Governor [[George Pataki]] of [[New York]] | ||
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*[[New York City]] Mayor [[Michael Bloomberg]], who became an Independent in 2007. | *[[New York City]] Mayor [[Michael Bloomberg]], who became an Independent in 2007. | ||
| − | *Former Senator Jim Jeffords of [[Vermont]], who left the Party and became a Democrat in 2001, giving control of the Senate to the Democrats. | + | *Former Senator [[Jim Jeffords]] of [[Vermont]], who left the Party and became a Democrat in 2001, giving control of the Senate to the Democrats. |
*Former Governor [[Charlie Crist]] of [[Florida]], who became an independent in 2010 after it was clear he would lose his Senate bid. | *Former Governor [[Charlie Crist]] of [[Florida]], who became an independent in 2010 after it was clear he would lose his Senate bid. | ||
Revision as of 18:16, August 30, 2011
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.[1] 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. Their commitment to self and not party is evident in their refusal to endorse the candidate that beats them. In some instances, they refuse the will of the voters and their party by running for office on an independent ticket.
RINOs
- Senator Olympia J. Snowe of Maine
- Senator Susan Collins of Maine
- Senator Lindsey Graham of South Carolina
- Senator Scott Brown of Massachusetts
- Senator Lisa Murkowski of Alaska
- Senator Richard Lugar of Indiana
- Senator John McCain of Arizona
- Former Senator George Voinovich of Ohio
- Former Senator Gordon Smith of Oregon
- Former Senator Charles Mathias of Maryland
- Former Senator Bob Bennett of Utah
- Former Senator Chuck Hagel of Nebraska
- Former Congressman Christopher Shays of Connecticut
- Former Congressman Tom Campbell of California
- Former Congressman Michael Castle of Delaware
- Former Congressman Joseph Cao of Louisiana
- Former Congressman Joe Scarborough of Florida
- Former Governor Jon Huntsman, Jr. of Utah
- Former Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger of California
- Former Governor Linda Lingle of Hawaii
- Former Governor George Pataki of New York
- Former Secretary of State Colin Powell
- Former Governor and Environmental Protection Agency Administrator Christine Todd Whitman of New Jersey
- Former New York City Mayor Rudy Giuliani
- Former Secretary of Homeland Security Tom Ridge.
- Former New York Congressional Candidate Dede Scozzafava
- Transportation Secretary Ray Lahood
- Lawyer Ted Olson of California
Former RINOs
- Former 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 left the party and formed his own local one in 1990, then became an Independent in 1995.
- New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg, who became an Independent in 2007.
- Former Senator Jim Jeffords of Vermont, who left the Party and became a Democrat in 2001, giving control of the Senate to the Democrats.
- Former Governor Charlie Crist of Florida, who became an independent in 2010 after it was clear he would lose his Senate bid.
- Former Representative John Anderson of Illinois, who became an Independent after losing his party's presidential primary in 1980.
RINO McCain
A majority of conservatives distrust RINO John McCain even though many of his policies are that of a true conservative. Key RINO principles rejected by McCain include support for gay rights, support for abortion, and support for earmarks. He has positioned his career as a bipartisan moderate, reaching across the aisle whenever possible. This is also his downfall. The era of reaching across the aisle passed -- when statist, socialist Democrats became Senators. His major political blunders mostly came during the 21st century political period. He was against both the Reagan and Bush tax cuts, and employed class warfare rhetoric in trying to stop the tax cuts from taking effect. His support for amnesty was the complete opposite of what conservatives wanted. He has always complained about enhanced interrogation techniques, calling them "torture". In non-election years, he likes to trash conservative positions and icons in order to get the media's and Democrats' approval. However, during the election he refused to go after Barack Hussein Obama's associations with Jeremiah Wright. He believes in the junk science known as global warming, and has supported cap-and-trade programs. Another Middle East war, without a goal, without full commitment to win, without Congressional approval- McCain supports the President. It didn't stop there and in July 2011, he called the Tea Party, the people that care about fiscal sanity in Washington, they are "hobbits".
The sacrifices he has made serving this country cannot be overlooked. John McCain has earned war hero status but also the status as a D.C. zero.
External Links
See Also
- PLINO - pro-life in name only
- Republican Party
- Moderate Republican
- Conservative Democrat
- Blue Dog Democrat
- Reagan Democrat
- Catholic in name only
- Liberal media conservative