No, not the horned behemoth, that would be a Rhino, what I’m talking about is a Republican-In-Name-Only. A RINO is a creature that claims to be associated with the Republican party, however doesn’t share the key philosophical points of the sanctity of life, smaller government, the second amendment and personal responsibility. Sure, they may claim they believe in one or two, but when you plumb the depths of their belief system it becomes apparent that they either don’t understand the concept or are truly social liberals at heart.
Sometimes it’s as simple as focusing on a single vote to be able to identify a RINO. An examination of their voting record shows they clearly only use the “R” after their name because they have enough conservative beliefs to be unwelcomed in the Democrat party. No true conservative would find their belief system anything other than liberal.
If you observe the Senate vote on the bill to defund Planned Parenthood you can clearly identify and work to eliminate these dangerous imposters. The five Republicans who voted against the Planned Parenthood defunding bill were: Sens. Olympia Snow and Susan Collins of Maine, Scott Brown of Massachusetts, Mark Kirk of Illinois, and Lisa Murkowski of Alaska.
Snow and Collins are well known RINOs. No great surprises there. However they are accepted into the Republican caucus because the alternatives from Maine would be wildly left-wing. Better a RINO than a Dem could be their election slogan. Conservatives know that a RINO is just a wolf in sheep’s clothing.
Scott Brown has been a distinct disappointment to conservatives. While having anyone with an “R” after their name in Teddy Kennedy’s seat brings a smile to the face of all Republicans, he has shown himself to be far from conservative.
Lisa Murkowski couldn’t disappoint anyone. She’s been a lose cannon on deck for years. Following in the footsteps of her father, she has shown bringing home the bacon is more important than protecting the interests of the American public. Not a great surprise coming from anyone with a long personal political history, let alone the daughter of Frank Murkowski. Nonetheless, after winning an unheard of Senate write-in election after Tea Party backed candidate Joe Miller imploded in the waning weeks of October, Murkowski demonstrated once again she is no conservative.
Mark Kirk has shown repeatedly that politically he is more Illinois and less America. He has favored laws in direct opposition to the second amendment. He has supported Obama’s cap ‘n tax agenda and has been in favor of controlling the internet. Add this vote to his record and pin a donkey on this guy’s lapel.
So, what is all the uproar over taxpayer funding going to Planned Parenthood? It’s actually quite easy to explain, though the Republicans seem unable to convey their reasoning in clear and understandable terms. For some strange reason Republicans want to use words that 80% of the public would consider gibberish. In at least 5 interviews in the last week Republicans used the term “fungible.” While I consider myself an educated person, I had to look up the definition. So now that I’ve furthered my education, let me explain:
Let’s say you put 50 one dollar bills in a piggy bank. Your spouse adds another 50 one dollar bills into the same piggy bank, but insists that none of their money is be spent on gambling. You promise you will abide by their wishes. Later that week you are invited to a poker game with your buddies and smash the piggy bank to get at your 50 dollars. How do you identify your money? It all looks the same. You simply cannot use any of the money in the piggy bank without the possibility that some of your spouse’s money will be used in the poker game, violating their wishes and your promise.
Such is the issue with the government funding Planned Parenthood. The organization goes out of its way to explain that they perform a number of health related services to females other than abortions. A strong argument can be made that private donations to Planned Parenthood could accomplish the same goal without costing the taxpayers a dime nor attacking anyone’s morals. But let’s set that discussion aside for the moment.
Where many conservatives, myself included, have an issue, is that Planned Parenthood provides abortion services in addition to their other services. The number of abortions performed by Planned Parenthood has more than doubled in the last decade. Of the 363 million dollars of taxpayer’s money scheduled to go to Planned Parenthood in 2011, it is impossible to be certain that none will fund abortions. It’s not a matter of record keeping, nor honesty. Money sent to Planned Parenthood to be spent on preventive care or counseling and money spent on abortions is interchangeable. No taxpayer who is morally opposed to abortion should have their tax dollars going to fund abortion. This has been accepted and a matter of law for many years. And yet the RINOs identified above all voted to continue taxpayer funding of Planned Parenthood knowing full and well that this ran in direct opposition to the wishes of their caucus.
How can you represent the social morays of the majority of conservatives when you don’t share their values? You simply cannot. In Congress they may allow you to call yourself a Republican the truth is you are a Republican in name only. It’s time that real conservatives stand up and say that while we want broad appeal, we won’t sacrifice the poles that hold up that tent. Believe as you will about the sanctity of life. As will I. Choose to accept marriage as open to any combination of human beings if you wish. I will not. Regardless of your believes, don’t spend my tax dollars funding actions I find morally repugnant and I will grant you the same level of respect. And RINOs, we know who you are and will no longer support you simply because of a letter following your name.
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