RINO's and Racists

RINO’s and Racists

Those with left leaning ideologies like to throw around the term racist a lot. Don’t support BLM? Racist. Don’t support Joe biden? Racist. Don’t support socialism? Racist. Republican? Racist. Don’t support *insert hot topic of the day.* Racist. You get the point. It’s been used so much the past few years that the sting and effect has been greatly diminished. The word, now, has become so devalued people have become numb to it. Not caring if they are called racist because it was used arbitrarily as a last ditch effort to win a disagreement. I don’t think that any reasonable person would say that racism doesn’t exist, but when the term is thrown around and used for anything and everything, it diminishes the gravity of the word and of the actual racism that exists.

The polarization of the two party system has contributed to this. The further we get from each other, the less middle ground there is (metaphorically, not physically). We have become so diametrically opposed, that if you’re not 100% for what I’m for, you’re 100% against it. And as George Lucas taught us, only the Sith deal in absolutes.

Republicans are not without fault here. We use a word in a similar fashion. RINO: republican in name only, for those unfamiliar. “RINO” has become the republican’s “racist,” but for internal use only. Similar to “racist,” RINO has its place when appropriate. But even in our party, many sling the term around like Bernie Sanders does with “free.” I’ve seen it more times than I care to count on social media, republican publications, and the news. Republicans calling other republicans RINO because they don’t see something the exact same way, even though they usually agree on the general idea, the disagreement is often over some nuanced detail that’s fairly insignificant. This leads to further, and unnecessary, division within our party.

I’ve seen people call representatives RINO when they misinterpreted something they said or did. Representatives/candidates call other representatives/candidates RINO just to get a boost in the polls. And even when a republican agrees with a democrat. It’s despicable behavior and we must hold ourselves to a higher standard.

RINO has its place and can be accurate in some cases, but should not be used as a common derogatory slur just because you think someone isn’t as republican as you. For example: I believe the term accurately describes Senator Mitt Romney (Disclaimer: I worked with his 2012 Presidential campaign). I can understand his dislike for President Trump’s demeanor, but hey, we elected him because he’s not a politician, and a no nonsense New Yorker. But when a republican Senator actively works against the republican President, that’s a problem, and an appropriate use of the term RINO.

When we dilute that word, it loses value, creates division, and can even turn people off to the party. We must hold ourselves to a higher standard if we want to, with any validity, call out others for similar behavior. Hypocrisy doesn’t suit us. It’s unnecessary and we can’t afford any cracks in our armor. We can’t control what others do. We can only control what we do. And if we want to have any semblance of a “moral high ground,” we need to unite now more than ever. The severity and importance of this 2020 election cannot be overstated. While I firmly believe in Republican and Conservative values and principles, if we can’t be the clear party of unity, then we are doomed.