How do you define a RINO?

[Smoblikat]

Would you consider someone like ron paul yo be a RINO? Essentially by definition he is, but generally when I hear someone being called a rino theyre referring to their liberal ideas, and not libertarian/3rd party ideas that happen to be on the republican side.

 

[xj0hnx]

I don't really think it is an applicable term anymore. The GOP is infected, and far beyond what it stood for.

 

[Doc Savage Fan]

 

[Anarchist420]

A RINO is a Rockefeller Republican.

 

[Incorruptible]

Most of the republicans are RINO

 

[marincounty]

When a Republican totally screws up, Republicans claim "he's a RINO", so it's really not our fault. See George W. Bush and Arnold for examples.

 

[werepossum]

LMAO!

 

[feralkid]

Dedine a Rino; Nominee Romney.

 

[OCGuy]

The Republican party has been hijacked by the minority far-right relignuts.

Luckily someone like Santorum could never be elected in a general election.

 

[Anarchist420]

The Republican party has been hijacked by the minority far-right relignuts.

It wasn't hijacked... it's really the same Reich-publican Party it was in 1856.

 

[Smoblikat]

Well thats all fine and well, but i have yet to recieve an answer. This is how derailing starts, I dont want this to be a debate between right and left or right vs right. I just want to know if someone like ron paul could be a rino. Generally a RINO is someone who is left leaning but claims they are a republican (George w bush), but by definition its just someone who is only a republican by name, like me. Im registered as a republican but only so I can vote against liberals, im really a libertarian. Maybe im misinterpreting the definition, so hopefully someone can clear things up.

 

[Lemon law]

RINO, means "Republican in name only." But where does this asumption come from that being a Republican is or ever has been some unmutable constant in the some 165 year history of the GOP?

As for me, whatever my opinion is worth, the GOP has been going to hell in a handbasket over the past 35 years. But when I was a far younger, there was much to admire about the GOP and it leaders. Intellecual leaders like Rockerfellar, Romney Senior, John Lindsey, Paul Tsongis, Dick Lugar, John Warner, Lincoln Chaffee, and gag even Eisenhower, were just a short list of GOP leaders who put America first and partisan politics a distant second. As that long dead GOP was at least respected as a minority by democrats as a minority party of principle. All those ex-GOP leaders I mentioned are all gone along with many I did not mention. As Dick Lugar as a lone hold out did not win his GOP primary race.

As there is a now a new definition of what a Republican is, and hence a new definition of a RINO. And by today's GOP standards, even Ronald Reagan would be defined as a RINO.

 

[Anarchist420]

Well thats all fine and well, but i have yet to recieve an answer.

I gave you an answer. I guess one could say in the so-called "interwar era", the Old Right was the real Republican faction and the Rockefeller Republicans were the RINO faction. The Old Right was popular in the South and the midwest (some were completely isolationist, others were just non-interventionists), while the Rockefeller Republicans were Northeastern Republicans who were pro-Wall Street globalists (as in pro-U.N and pro-foreign intervention). Anyway, Hoover was a Progressive Republican while Harding and Coolidge were much closer to the Old Right, although Hoover was also a non-foreign interventionist and probably not a master race theorist, so even the Progressive Republicans were divided (TJR was a Progressive Republican, a master race theorist, and a foreign interventionist.

That said, factions and people can't always be labeled. Some have said that Dr. Paul was more paleoconservative than a libertarian. I think he used to be more paleoconservative (America Firster) but now he seems equally divided between pro-American and cosmopolitan.

Anyway, Bush was not an America-Firster because he didn't believe the sole purpose of the U.S. military was to defend America so he was pro-war for different reasons than America-Firster Romney (who takes a more Jacksonian view on foreign policy). You then have anti-war America-Firsters like David Duke and Pat Buchanan who believe it is against the interests of America to intervene in foreign affairs, but they don't really care about the lives of non-Americans (i.e., they're not at all peaceniks). Dr. Paul is non-interventionist because he cares about the lives of non-Americans, but also because he believes U.S. govt intervention is detrimental to America... I concur with Dr. Paul. Then you have far left liberals like Kucinich who are very cosmopolitan and are outright peaceniks. So think of Dr. Paul as somewhere between Kucinich and Duke/Buchanan on foreign policy.

 

[dmcowen674]

How do you define a RINO?

Anyone not rich that votes against their own self interests by supporting and voting Republican.

There are a lot of them on here for example.

 

[nobodyknows]

Anyone not rich that votes against their own self interests by supporting and voting Republican.

There are a lot of them on here for example.

LOL!! You're such a clown sometimes.

 

[WHAMPOM]

Would you consider someone like ron paul yo be a RINO? Essentially by definition he is, but generally when I hear someone being called a rino theyre referring to their liberal ideas, and not libertarian/3rd party ideas that happen to be on the republican side.

Working at making gonernment work, and not so much into "Burnt Earth Policy."