You might be a Rino.

by Rod Williams, Dec. 28, 2010 - Are you a Rino? RINO is the acronym for "Republican in Name Only." It is the new invective to hurl at fellow Republicans with whom you disagree. Republicans are real good at snatching defeat from the jaws of victory. One way they do that is by driving from their midst anyone who does not agree with them 100% of the time on all points. Holier-than-thou "real" Republicans want to purge the Party of all but the pure in heart. Their favorite sport is the circular firing squad.

Some famous Rinos are William F. Buckley, Ronald Reagan, Richard Nixon, both Bushs, John McCain, George Will, and David Brooks. There are a lot of Rinos. Our own Senators Lamar Alexander and Bob Corker are Rinos.

There are only a few "Real" Republicans and they include Rush Limbaugh, Michael Savage, and Ann Coulter. We can't be sure about Glen Beck.

I must be a Rino; I get told I am a lot. I generally want to enlarge the Party, not shrink it. I tend to think that if someone agrees with me 51% of the time, I want us to be on the same side. Like Ronald Reagan, I am a "big tent" kind of Republican. That makes me a Rino.

Below is a list to use to determine if you are a Rinos.

• If you supported the Party’s presidential candidate in 2008, you might be a Rino.

• If you supported the START treaty because it leaves our country with enough nuclear warheads to blow any attacker to Kingdom Come and because the President committed to an $85 billion, 10-year plan that would make sure that our weapons work and because it allows for inspection of Russian warheads and because our military leaders say it does nothing to interfere with the development of our missile defense system and because the last six Republican Secretaries of State supported it, you might be a Rino.

•  If you think that maybe-just maybe, there could be something to this global warming theory and if you have any doubts that all of the scientist who endorse it are part of a grand liberal conspiracy, you might be a Rino.

• If you think that at some point we need to pass some sort of legislation (similar to that proposed by George W. Bush), that will document the illegal immigrants who are in this country and allow an earned path to citizenship for some of them (after paying back taxes and a penalty), and work permits for some others, you might be a Rino.

• If you think that Barack Obama, was born in Hawaii and is an American citizen, you might be a Rino.

•  If you have any doubts that Barack Obama is a Muslim, you might be a Rino.

• If you think that the Muslim faith, practiced by 1.2 to 1.57 billion people or about 20% of the world’s population, is really a religion, then you might be a Rino.

• If you think the First Amendment is just as important as the Second or the Tenth, you might be a Rino.
   
• If you think the First Amendment applies to followers of the Muslim faith and they have the right to build a house of worship in Murfressboro, you might be a Rino.
   
• If you think it is OK for foreigners to own property in America and you are not absolutely outraged that some illegal immigrants have Visa cards and bank accounts and can get loans and you do not think it wise to take power away from the private sector and transfer that power to the government to decide who can get loans and visa cards and bank accounts, then you might be a Rino.
   
• If you agree with the late William F. Buckley and religious right leader Pat Robertson that we should decriminalize marijuana, you might be a Rino.
   
• If you do not think “compromise” is a dirty word, you might be a Rino.
   
• If you think “pragmatism” is a virtue, you might be a Rino.
   
• If you think “electability” should be a consideration in choosing your party’s candidates, you might be a Rino.

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