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Of RINOs and a Home for Conservatives
People like to toss around the accusation that this or that person is a “Republican in Name Only,” or a RINO. Generally, this means the person is not a conservative, at least in the eyes of the accuser. The accusation is meant to be an insult or an attempt to dismiss what the accused thinks.
I once heard Jonah Goldberg say that every conservative ought to be a RINO. What he meant was that one’s loyalty should be to conservative principles, not a political party. I agree with him.
Ronald Reagan used to say, “Somebody who agrees with me 80 percent of the time is a friend and ally, not a 20-percent traitor.” Sadly, today’s Republicans of all stripes, from establishment types to tea-partiers to Trump supporters, seem to think a 99-percent friend is a 100-percent enemy. As a consequence, the GOP’s continued existence as a national party is being openly debated. It’s been a long time since it’s happened in America, but political parties can and do die.
Spiritually, I am a Christian. Politically, I am a conservative. As long as the Republican Party remains the home of the conservative movement, I will remain a Republican. If, on the other hand, the GOP abandons conservatism and deems conservative principles to be unworth following, I will be faced with a choice.
It seems everyone has his own idea of what it means to be a conservative. This is not surprising, since conservatism is not a rigid ideology. One can be an economic conservative, a social conservative, a neoconservative, a paleoconservative, a Tea Party conservative, a country-club conservative, and so forth. All lay claim to certain aspects of conservative thought. When one faction gains dominance over the others, or when some flavors of conservatism reject the others, cracks appear in the conservative movement.
The great conservative thinker Russell Kirk identified ten principles of conservatism. These principles allow for many differences of opinion on policy and specific pieces of legislation. They should be used as a guide, not a bludgeon to drive people from the conservative movement:
- First, the conservative believes that there exists an enduring moral order. That order is made for man, and man is made for it: human nature is a constant, and moral truths are permanent.
- Second, the conservative adheres to custom, convention, and continuity. It is old custom that enables people to live together peaceably; the destroyers of custom demolish more than they know or desire.
- Third, conservatives believe in what may be called the principle of prescription. Conservatives sense that modern people are dwarfs on the shoulders of giants, able to see farther than their ancestors only because of the great stature of those who have preceded us in time.
- Fourth, conservatives are guided by their principle of prudence. Burke agrees with Plato that in the statesman, prudence is chief among virtues. Any public measure ought to be judged by its probable long-run consequences, not merely by temporary advantage or popularity.
- Fifth, conservatives pay attention to the principle of variety. They feel affection for the proliferating intricacy of long-established social institutions and modes of life, as distinguished from the narrowing uniformity and deadening egalitarianism of radical systems.
- Sixth, conservatives are chastened by their principle of imperfectability. Human nature suffers irremediably from certain grave faults, the conservatives know.
- Seventh, conservatives are persuaded that freedom and property are closely linked. Separate property from private possession, and Leviathan becomes master of all.
- Eighth, conservatives uphold voluntary community, quite as they oppose involuntary collectivism. Although Americans have been attached strongly to privacy and private rights, they also have been a people conspicuous for a successful spirit of community.
- Ninth, the conservative perceives the need for prudent restraints upon power and upon human passions. A state in which an individual or a small group are able to dominate the wills of their fellows without check is a despotism, whether it is called monarchical or aristocratic or democratic.
- Tenth, the thinking conservative understands that permanence and change must be recognized and reconciled in a vigorous society. The conservative is not opposed to social improvement, although he doubts whether there is any such force as a mystical Progress, with a Roman P, at work in the world.
Whether because its leaders are unable or unwilling to adhere to conservative principles, or because its voters reject conservatism in favor of nationalism and populism, the Republican Party is at a crossroads. This election will decide the path forward, not only for our nation, but for the conservative movement and its current home within the GOP.
As a conservative, I hope my fellow Republicans remain faithful to conservative principles and reject anger and fear. I hope my fellow Republicans choose to put the Party back on its conservative foundation. Finally, I hope the Grand Old Party can remain my political home and the home to conservatives everywhere.
Published in Politics
I realize the term has been overused into meaninglessness but, as for me, I always took Republican In Name Only to mean just that…or more specifically: Senator from Maine.
You know, “When history calls, history calls.”
It was redacted shortly after I flagged it this morning (the second time,when you were referring to members), not sure if I was the only one. In answer to your first paragraph, the mods may not read everything, certainly not as it’s posted, so if you see something out of line, you should flag it to bring it to a mod’s attention.
Making up for lost time in this thread, then?
I can’t say what he meant, but I’ve used it in a podcast, to channel a certain . . . worldview, to be charitable. Can’t imagine Jonah using it seriously.
I don’t think I made myself clear. I do not use the word in conversation. I used it to make a point that the Right is just as guilty as the Left when it comes to virtue signaling. It is a nasty word with ugly connotations, and the editors reserve every right to ban its use.
Bingo. Newt today seems squishy compared to how he was see 30 years ago. And so long as there remains two parties of significance, and one remains clearly more conservative than the other, then it will get my support.
The problem is that I don’t know that distinction will persist during a Trump candidacy. Maybe when the race (or heaven help us his presidency) is over it could shift back, but, if Trump is who I believe him to be, the party will have completely rejected its principles.
I Googled for “c______ve.” A Wikipedia page for the term topped the list. The Wikipedia article was a really nasty example of their Leftist position. Their talk page was sort of interesting.
I am just wondering how a post examining the writer’s views on what it means to be a conservative came to be read as an attack on Trump/Trump supporters, considering that they were only mentioned inclusively as part of a larger movement.
I’ve never used the word in question nor heard it anywhere other than either the flagship of GLOP podcast (one of which is where I first heard GOPe), but serious question, is the word cuckold an inherently ugly sexually suggestive word?