Proud RINO

It's time for us outcasts to unite

If you don’t pay close attention to the daily cycles of GOP anarchy, you may not know what the acronym RINO means. Follow me today on a journey filled with history, FoxNews, MAGA brain worms, and personal confusion. We will come out the other end even more bewildered. Perfect for Halloween. Should be fun!

In the ancient days of normalness, the roots of RINO (Republican In Name Only) were established to describe a “liberal interloper” in the GOP. RINO was initially a way to chuckle at the dang Independent folks who just wouldn’t share the orthodoxy of the right on abortion, spending, guns, etc. But it wasn’t a label of shame, because it was well understood that some “liberal Republicans” were the only ones that could win in certain areas.

 Illinois’ tenth congressional district was represented for years by RINO Mark Kirk, who would eventually become a senator. Kirk described himself as a “fiscal conservative, social moderate, and national defense hawk,” For years the Illinois GOP rallied behind him recognizing, correctly, that in a state that last elected a GOP presidential candidate in 1988, his kind of Republican was the only sort who could win statewide office. Fast forward to 2018, and Bruce Rauner, a Republican Illinois Governor (as rare as a real rhino in New York City) was abandoned in his re-election bid because he was pro-choice, a fact that had been known in his initial election in 2014. Without the rabid support of the angry and activated people now running the party, he couldn’t possibly win reelection.

Without the rage, hate, and fear that became the mother’s milk for raising money in the 2010s and on, RINOs face an uphill struggle. Right-wing talk shows and news anchors seek ratings by encouraging viewers to fear the Democrats, and “the [RINO] enemy within.” After all, fundamentalists of any variety hate supposed apostates more than they do unbelievers. As time went on, the party began self-selecting only those who would hold to strict orthodoxy. But some RINOs survived.

Over time, issues became less important than outrage. The daily dissertations from FoxNews, Hannity, Rush, etc. began to define what it meant to be a “real Republican.” If someone was willing to compromise for the good of the nation, and tried to throttle down the outrages that divided families, they got the label RINO. Finally, with the arrival of Donald Trump, it became much easier to identify these “traitors.” Indeed, anyone who opposed him on anything became a turncoat worthy of expulsion.

RINO was simplified, into those who opposed Trump outright or failed to enthusiastically defend his insane outbursts. While one day he may say that we need immigration reform, the next he would declare that the immigrants must be deported. If one failed to likewise change their position, they fell into the apostate category. After January 6, and his second impeachment, Republicans like me, who voted for impeachment in the House and his conviction in the Senate trial, became the worst RINOs of all.

The term Republican now signifies loyalty to the orange man. In that context, I think it is clear that many whose names are brought up in Republican circles as heroes would now fall under that category. When Ronald Reagan said “if you’re with me 80 percent of the time, you’re my ally,” he became a future RINO. When Abraham Lincoln discussed reconciliation, he became a RINO. When I decided that Donald Trump was the worst human to ever occupy the Oval Office, I became one as well.

In that regard, I am a proud RINO. I believe that two healthy parties are necessary in this country, and that the GOP is currently on the fast track to authoritarianism and extinction. I believe the leaders of today’s party are an embarrassment to the history of a once great organization. I believe that it is important to compromise when possible to ensure the nation is best served by a wide range of ideas. And I believe that Jesus didn’t care about tax rates, and loved all men and women, including immigrants. If that makes me a RINO, I wear that label with pride.

Many Republicans today feel politically homeless. Not sharing the policy goals of the Democrats, and embarrassed by a party that stands for nothing but outrage, they are confused, deflated, and in their minds, defeated. They shouldn’t feel this way. There is a large group of RINOs out there in America, and they will patiently hunt down their opponents and, like real rhinos in the wild, stomp them out when the time is right.

Let’s embrace this term. RINOs Unite!