Ronald Reagan is known for many great quotes which have inspired so many Americans for years. I could go on and cite any one of them but, today I want to cite just one: "and the 11th commandment is, 'thou shalt not speak ill of any fellow Republican'". He said this while he was governor of California.
Apparently since his death, other Republicans never learned this commandment or they just forgot it. They have invented terms like "RINO" to describe those of us who don't march in lockstep with the right wing of the party.
On July 22, 2013, I wrote a commentary on this subject titled "RINOs?" which overviewed the reasons for my objections to this term and should raise those objections in you. I am appalled that Republicans would speak of each other so negatively.
- English: Crude drawing of the "No RINO" buttons used by American Republicans. (Photo credit: Wikipedia)
I am imploring conservatives to stop using this term. You are playing into the hands of the left-wing media as they silently rejoice while we tear ourselves apart with political fratricide.
Did we learn anything from the 2012 election when the more conservative elements ripped into a moderate would be President Romney? By the time the convention started, he was so wounded he was never able to fully recover. He was still trying to win over the conservative vote on Election Day and instead, you all stayed home.
The reward for standing by your conservative principles was four more years of an Obama march toward a more Socialist America.
Believe me, we have a great shot of capturing the Senate now, but if the fratricide continues, we could lose both houses in November, and the Obama "transformation of America" will be complete.
In addition, by the Republicans continually destroying each other, Americans will elect Joe Biden, Hillary Clinton or even Sam Stupid as President in 2016. Is that who we want to lead us through the rest of the decade? Any of our causes will be lost forever, because the next President will either affirm or entrench the disaster of Barack Obama and his presidency or will be able to overturn every single unconstitutional act he and the Pelosi/Reid Congress started in 2009.
Which outcome would you prefer? For me, the latter would be the preferable choice. If we lose both Houses in 2014 and lose a chance for capturing the Presidency in 2016, our fate will be sealed. By 2021, we will have been 12 years down the road to a "Democrat-Socialist"-led America and if we continue to castigate each other, we will get what we deserve. It will be our own fault.
Think about it. Even the more moderate and left-of-center Republican is better than anyone the Democrats can offer with one or two exceptions, and they really are Republicans but haven't figured that out yet. Those dems still talk of the party of JFK, Truman and Scoop Jackson, but today's Democrat Party left these great Americans behind long ago.
So, stop it already! Enough of the name-calling! We are Republicans, all of us, and each part of our party has something good to bring to the Party and something better to say than anyone to the left of Joe Manchin. Maybe he could be our standard-bearer. Right now, he is the one politician who most closely resembles the best President we had since Kennedy, who would be a Republican today. Reagan probably would endorse that.
Think about it. Take a deep breath and toss "RINO" out of our lexicon. Or, come 2017, Madame President Clinton, of "at this point, what difference does it make" fame, will be sealing our fate forever.
That will be a BIG difference.
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