Who Is the Real RINO?

Political identities are always in flux and being reshaped. As I was coming of age the Republican Party was known for it “big tent.” It included the likes of Nelson Rockefeller, John Anderson, and Mark Hatfield. After the Civil War/War Between the States reactions to the then new Republican party’s role in the war and in ending slavery, the Democratic Party had pretty much of a lock on the Southern States, even as it moved in a more liberal direction with FDR. These were (sometimes derisively) known as Dixiecrats. This profile began to shift considerably with Nixon’s “Southern Strategy” and Reagan’s “Revolution.” After that came efforts to bring pure conservatism to the Republican Party.  In the 1990s the label “Republicans in name only” began to be used to exclude those left from the “big tent” days. A cursory check suggested that RINO was first used in print in 1992 to identify those who were deemed not sufficiently conservative. In the post-Trump era, RINO seems to have been redefined as those who are not sufficiently loyal to Donald Trump rather than adherence to conservative political philosophy. That Liz Cheney and Adam Kinzinger have been labeled as RINOs is evidence of this, as their political philosophy and records are impeccably conservative. In my mind, as something of an outsider to the Republican Party (I am also an outsider to the Democratic Party), Donald Trump seems more of a RINO as he clearly puts his own ego ahead to the good of the party, the nation, or any sort of consistent political or ethical principles.

Added September 5, 2022

As the midterm elections approach in the midst of the turmoil about the documents Donald Trump took from the White House to Mar-a-Lago, it is clear that he does not care about the Republican Party much less the country, but only about being the center of attention which his ego seems to crave whether the attention is positive or not.

My opinion is that complaining about the timing of the FBI retrieving the purloined documents is bunk! It would not be an issue if they had never been taken but turned over to the National Archives as long tradition and the 1978 Presidential Records Act. Failing that, they could all have been turned over when they were first missed and requested. Failing that they could have been all turned over with the first visit to Mar-a-Lago that retrieved some of them (while even more were "hidden"). Failing that they could all have been turned over when the subpoena for their return was issued. Any one of those would not only have eliminated the growing stain on Trump's integrity (if he has any), it would have entirely prevented the timing from being associated with the midterm elections. My opinion, again, is that Trump (and those who seem to me to be mindlessly defending him) has only himself to blame for this debacle. 

It would seem that the Republican Party would be well served by severing relationship with Trump, and by triggering his vicious vengeance, expose his true character. I think after enduring his bluster and wrath, they'd be better off.