Defining “RINO” in the Trump Era

 

The derogatory term “Republican in Name Only” is applied to those who vote with the left instead of supporting a conservative agenda. I think there is a new variant of that definition. Since the MSM no longer maintains even a vestigial link to objective reporting, the more significant RINO defining trait is whether a Republican lets his enemies frame and define the issues.

Consider the weekend performances of Lindsey Graham and Susan Collins. They expressed their opposition to that which Trump did not do—fire Mueller. A month or so ago, when the Russian Collusion fantasy was at its peak, firing Mueller would have been a political disaster. Since then, the situation has changed. Opposing what Trump almost did in retrospect is true RINO self-abasement.

For a Republican to be on the defensive when it comes to Mueller is idiotic and weirdly masochistic. The opportunity to fire back is obvious. Consider any of these responses.

• Mueller has nothing. We know that because there have been no more tantalizing leaks to MSNBC or the NYT. The collusion charge was always a fraud now that we know with certainty it was just a campaign dirty trick abetted by the Obama Administration.

• If Mueller drags it out or continues to pursue tangential figures, his credibility diminishes. To prove this not a political vendetta and to preserve his own reputation, he needs wrap it up.

• It now appears that not only does Mueller have nothing, his investigation is now interfering with efforts to uncover the actual scandal.

• If Mueller has found the source of the collusion myth (how could he not), and has seen evidence of what now appears to be unlawful behavior by senior government officials and appointees and yet he has not made a single criminal referral or moved for an indictment despite his absurdly broad mandate, then he should be shut down as a partisan hack who was never interested in the truth of the matter.

Russiagate is imploding on the MSM and Democrats. To be defensive in the face of a failed narrative is not a matter of principled ideological differences. It just being pathetic out of habit. There is no middle ground or “moderate” alternative to The Narrative.

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  1. Fake John/Jane Galt Coolidge
    Fake John/Jane Galt
    @FakeJohnJaneGalt

    I suspect he has seen the source of the actual collusion myth and is now in the process of cleaning it so it can be used against Trump and allow the Democrat off since they had no intent or some such excuse.

    • #1
  2. Gary Robbins Member
    Gary Robbins
    @GaryRobbins

    The next thing you are going to tell us is that Ted Cruz’s father helped Lee Harvey Oswald and that Obama was born in Kenya, examples of the Trump who brays that there is no collusion, and that Mueller is out to get him, and that Trump has been victimized by a vast left wing conspiracy.

    The only way for the Republican Party to Survive the Trump Interregnum is to hold him off with a stiff arm, not unlike how the Democrats and Tip O’Neill held off Jimmy Carter.

    I belong to the Republican Party of Ronald Reagan, not the angry populist Party of Trump.

    • #2
  3. A-Squared Inactive
    A-Squared
    @ASquared

    Firing Mueller would still be a disaster.

    Recal, the only reason we have Mueller is because Trump bragged to the Russians about firing Comey to take the pressure off the Russian investigation.

    As John Yoo said on flagship podcast, Mueller is almost done. Vastly better to let him finish than give the world the impression you are hiding something (and in the process drag out the investigation past the midterm elections.)

    • #3
  4. Gary Robbins Member
    Gary Robbins
    @GaryRobbins

    Fake John/Jane Galt (View Comment):
    I suspect he has seen the source of the actual collusion myth and is now in the process of cleaning it so it can be used against Trump and allow the Democrat off since they had no intent or some such excuse.

    Humm.  I wonder what Flynn confessed to.

    I think it is likely for Mueller to find collusion, Obstruction of Justice and money laundering, I really don’t know, and I don’t think many people other than Mueller and Flynn know.

    i am willing for the process to play itself out.

    And firing Mueller would be a red line.

    • #4
  5. Gary Robbins Member
    Gary Robbins
    @GaryRobbins

    A-Squared (View Comment):
    Firing Mueller would still be a disaster.

    Recal, the only reason we have Mueller is because Trump bragged to the Russians about firing Coley to take the pressure off the Russian investigation.

    As John Yoo said on flagship podcast, Mueller is almost done. Vastly better to let him finish than give the world the impression you are hiding something (and in the process drag out the investigation past the midterm elections.)

    John Yoo’s analysis was brilliant on the Flagship and Law Talk podcasts.

    • #5
  6. Fake John/Jane Galt Coolidge
    Fake John/Jane Galt
    @FakeJohnJaneGalt

    Gary Robbins (View Comment):

    Fake John/Jane Galt (View Comment):
    I suspect he has seen the source of the actual collusion myth and is now in the process of cleaning it so it can be used against Trump and allow the Democrat off since they had no intent or some such excuse.

    Humm. I wonder what Flynn confessed to.

    I think it is likely for Mueller to find collusion, Obstruction of Justice and money laundering, I really don’t know, and I don’t think many people other than Mueller and Flynn know.

    i am willing for the process to play itself out.

    And firing Mueller would be a red line.

    I have no doubt they will find plenty of stuff and get confessions for it.  It is what the government does.  If it is true is a different question but nobody really cares about that.  As for you be willing to let the process play out.  No surprise there, anything that hurts the Trumps Presidency you seem to be down with.

    • #6
  7. DocJay Inactive
    DocJay
    @DocJay

    A-Squared (View Comment):
    Firing Mueller would still be a disaster.

    Probably unless they’ve spied on Mueller and have wiretapped evidence of his collusion with Steele’s Russian spies.

    Recal, the only reason we have Mueller is because Trump bragged to the Russians about firing Coley to take the pressure off the Russian investigation.

    Eh, I think the special investigator was predetermined before the inauguration, with the only variable being just when.

    As John Yoo said on flagship podcast, Mueller is almost done. Vastly better to let him finish than give the world the impression you are hiding something (and in the process drag out the investigation past the midterm elections.)

    Yep, and Trump’s people have greatly discredited the DOJ/FBI by slowly exposing the corruption/collusion with possibly treasonous intent.

     

     

    • #7
  8. A-Squared Inactive
    A-Squared
    @ASquared

    DocJay (View Comment):
    Eh, I think the special investigator was predetermined before the inauguration, with the only variable being just when.

    Meh. It was Trump’s assistant AG, the very guy that wrote the memo saying Comey should be fired, that appointed Mueller. All Trump had to do was repeat the line, “I fired Comey based on the advice of the Deputy AG” and there would have been no reason to appoint Mueller.

    • #8
  9. DocJay Inactive
    DocJay
    @DocJay

    A-Squared (View Comment):

    DocJay (View Comment):
    Eh, I think the special investigator was predetermined before the inauguration, with the only variable being just when.

    Meh. It was Trump’s assistant AG, the very guy that wrote the memo saying Comey should be fired, that appointed Mueller. All Trump had to do was repeat the line, “I fired Comey based on the advice of the Deputy AG” and there would have been no reason to appoint Mueller.

    Yeah I remember that part but I expect Jim Comey was ready for that with some other reason.   He had to cover for the misdeeds of his agency somehow.

    I do hope this all ends soon.  There are big policy issues and an election to hash out.  Having the investigation drag on is a huge detriment.

    • #9
  10. TheSockMonkey Inactive
    TheSockMonkey
    @TheSockMonkey

    Old Bathos: Russian Collision

    Russian collision, eh?

    • #10
  11. TBA Coolidge
    TBA
    @RobtGilsdorf

    Gary Robbins (View Comment):
     

    i am willing for the process to play itself out.

    That is generous of you.

    But what about a fair and speedy trial?

    • #11
  12. Old Bathos Member
    Old Bathos
    @OldBathos

    Gary Robbins (View Comment):
    The next thing you are going to tell us is that Ted Cruz’s father helped Lee Harvey Oswald and that Obama was born in Kenya, examples of the Trump who brays that there is no collusion, and that Mueller is out to get him, and that Trump has been victimized by a vast left wing conspiracy.

    Thanks for the entertaining non sequitur.  The point of the post was not whether to fire Mueller but whether there is any point or benefit in assuming a defensive crouch regarding the status or substance of the Mueller subversion expedition.

    The notion that (a) Putin and Trump were in cahoots; (b) that anyone in Trump’s camp believed Putin could affect the outcome and (c) that Putin changed a single vote pursuant to such a deal is utterly moronic.  It is therefore somewhat ironic that you seem to think the great collusion myth is a realistic possibility while simultaneously sneering at the Cruz and Obama stories.  Either wear the tinfoil hat or don’t but know that your visceral dislike of Trump is not the gravamen of factual accuracy.  And yes, by every conceivable measure, Trump is in fact the victim of a vast leftwing conspiracy subject to the most absurdly negative press (including social media manipulation) since maybe Lincoln.

    The only way for the Republican Party to Survive the Trump Interregnum is to hold him off with a stiff arm, not unlike how the Democrats and Tip O’Neill held off Jimmy Carter.

    I belong to the Republican Party of Ronald Reagan, not the angry populist Party of Trump.

    The Reagan team understood the importance of spin battles far better than you apparently do.  The notion that the GOP will somehow be “saved” by doing a collective Jeff Flake and assuming an apologetic fetal position while waiting for Trump to be destroyed by his enemies is delusional.

    The reality is that it has always to be about the policies not personalities.  The real enemy is still The Narrative.  I fully understand the revulsions that animate NeverTrumpism.  However, I fear that the narcissism of many Never-Trumpers is such that they would give the real enemy a spectacular victory just to vindicate their NeverTrumpism rather than promote or celebrate the genuine conservative victories achieved by this curiously flawed man.

    • #12
  13. DrewInWisconsin Member
    DrewInWisconsin
    @DrewInWisconsin

    A-Squared (View Comment):
    Recal, the only reason we have Mueller is because Trump bragged to the Russians about firing Comey to take the pressure off the Russian investigation.

    Actually, the only reason we have Mueller is because Comey leaked to the New York Times in a deliberate attempt to have a Special Counsel named. Comey has admitted this.

    • #13
  14. DrewInWisconsin Member
    DrewInWisconsin
    @DrewInWisconsin

    Old Bathos (View Comment):
    I fully understand the revulsions that animate NeverTrumpism. However, I fear that the narcissism of many Never-Trumpers is such that they would give the real enemy a spectacular victory just to vindicate their NeverTrumpism rather than promote or celebrate the genuine conservative victories achieved by this curiously flawed man.

    This is my fear, too, and I think the actions of NeverTrumpers bear it out.

    • #14
  15. Old Bathos Member
    Old Bathos
    @OldBathos

    To be clear, I do not advocate firing Mueller.  I do advocate refusing to pretend that his investigation was anything other than an extension of a vicious partian stunt.  The idiotic claims that Mueller’s big adventure is an untouchable constitutional fixture and that the Republic would fall if he were limited in any way is nonsense.  It is a political reality that Trump’s enemies would crucify him if he fired Mueller before this farce plays out.  But Mueller’s investigation is horribly tainted and should always be described as such.

    It is fair game to question the premise of Mueller’s charge from Rosenstein based on what we now now.  It is fair game to point out the almost comic bias in his personnel selection which defeats the whole purpose of an “independent” counsel.  It is fair game to assert that he has no serious dirt on Trump because he has leaked every iota of dirt so far and there is still zero evidence of actual guilt on the part of Trump in the NYT, CNN or MSNBC.  It is fair game to point out that the FBI, DOJ and Mueller are actively hindering the investigation of the real scandal from which this “investigation” was born which makes it reasonable to question the scope and purpose of continuing this farce.

    The enemy uses the fact of the ongoing Mueller investigation to try to taint and undermine the Administration and to distract from the roaring criminality of the Obama and Clinton teams.  I see no point in ceding that ground.

    The FBI knowingly relied on the bogus fruits of collusion between Russian government sources and  DNC & HRC campaign in order to justify a phony claim that Trump illegally colluded with those same Russians.  Mueller is pursuing that absurd claim and as such his mission is worse than a farce, it is a continuation of an unfair, dishonorable, unlawful campaign dirty trick. If saying than causes Jeff Flake of Lindsey Graham to get their panties in a bunch, so what?

    Lastly, I greatly admire John Yoo and respect his analysis.  However, I do not live in the rarefied air of elite law and policy circles in which gentlemanly deference to the presumed honor of other members is a given.  Yoo gives way to much deference to Mueller’s personal and professional honor.  Frankly, I have not seen the slightest indication that Mueller is anything other than a partisan Ahab.  The left (including the establishment left) does not reciprocate the politeness and search for middle ground characteristic of RINOs.  In cases of wrongdoing, Democrats NEVER produce a Howard Baker or a senior whistleblower of any kind. Ever. Ultimately, the real problem with RINOs is that they are in denial about the nature of  the nature of the enemy.

    • #15
  16. James Gawron Inactive
    James Gawron
    @JamesGawron

    OldB,

    This kind of attack should be called the knee-jerk Trump attack. No matter how absurd or useless, when presented with an opportunity of any kind no matter how unwarranted, a knee-jerk Trump attack is sure to follow. That in 90% of these situations no comment at all would have sufficed, does make one wonder exactly what the knee-jerkers intend to accomplish. As most of them are so unconscious of their own bias it wouldn’t matter anyway what they thought they wanted to accomplish, one should stop wondering.

    Nice post.

    Regards,

    Jim

     

    • #16
  17. A-Squared Inactive
    A-Squared
    @ASquared

    DrewInWisconsin (View Comment):

    A-Squared (View Comment):
    Recal, the only reason we have Mueller is because Trump bragged to the Russians about firing Comey to take the pressure off the Russian investigation.

    Actually, the only reason we have Mueller is because Comey leaked to the New York Times in a deliberate attempt to have a Special Counsel named. Comey has admitted this.

    I’m aware of that, but I still argue if Trump had not been so stupid as to say what he said to the Russians in a room full of people, there would be no special investigation.

    • #17
  18. Old Bathos Member
    Old Bathos
    @OldBathos

    A-Squared (View Comment):

    DrewInWisconsin (View Comment):

    A-Squared (View Comment):
    Recal, the only reason we have Mueller is because Trump bragged to the Russians about firing Comey to take the pressure off the Russian investigation.

    Actually, the only reason we have Mueller is because Comey leaked to the New York Times in a deliberate attempt to have a Special Counsel named. Comey has admitted this.

    I’m aware of that, but I still argue if Trump had not been so stupid as to say what he said to the Russians in a room full of people, there would be no special investigation.

    I think the rationale and momentum for the special counsel appointment was already baked.  Trump’s remarks were (to put it charitably) ill-considered but this crew would have pushed this through without them.  Once Sessions stupidly recused himself, there was no way prevent this outcome.

    • #18
  19. Old Bathos Member
    Old Bathos
    @OldBathos

    TheSockMonkey (View Comment):

    Old Bathos: Russian Collision

    Russian collision, eh?

    Spell check is my enema.

     

    • #19
  20. A-Squared Inactive
    A-Squared
    @ASquared

    Old Bathos (View Comment):

    A-Squared (View Comment):

     

    I think the rationale and momentum for the special counsel appointment was already baked. Trump’s remarks were (to put it charitably) ill-considered but this crew would have pushed this through without them. Once Sessions stupidly recused himself, there was no way prevent this outcome.

    The problem with that argument is, there was no “crew”, just Rod Rosenstein, the very guy who wrote the memo arguing that Comey should be fired. Comey’s leaked memo without Trump bragging to the Russians would have just confirmed the arguments Rosenstein made in his memo.

    • #20
  21. Old Bathos Member
    Old Bathos
    @OldBathos

    A-Squared (View Comment):

    Old Bathos (View Comment):

    A-Squared (View Comment):

    I think the rationale and momentum for the special counsel appointment was already baked. Trump’s remarks were (to put it charitably) ill-considered but this crew would have pushed this through without them. Once Sessions stupidly recused himself, there was no way prevent this outcome.

    The problem with that argument is, there was no “crew”, just Rod Rosenstein, the very guy who wrote the memo arguing that Comey should be fired. Comey’s leaked memo without Trump bragging to the Russians would have just confirmed the arguments Rosenstein made in his memo.

    Comey’s post-firing leaks and communications were made for the express purpose of appointing a special counsel or to entangle Trump otherwise.  The fact that Comey deliberately bated Trump by refusing to endorse Trump’s innocence and deliberately let the cloud of suspicion about Russia hang for the express purpose of undermining the new administration triggered his firing.  Trump does not have the process sophistication to quietly kill an investigation as smoothly as Obama killed all of his administration’s criminal activities. Trump knows he did not collude and can’t understand why anyone in an official capacity would say otherwise.

    There is no “just Rosenstein”.  He is very much a part of a very wired legal and political establishment.  His instincts were to protect and vindicate Comey even as he critiqued Comey’s mishandling of the Clinton email scandal, to protect and vindicate the DOJ for concocting the Russiagate narrative and to presume a degree of good faith and professionalism that was non-existent.  His memo about Comey and his statement about appointing Mueller read like a bureaucrat seeking personal cover in a messy situation.  It is what anyone else on the DC home team would have done.

    In appointing Mueller, Rosenstein was responding to Comey’s veiled allegations regarding his firing rather than any of Trump’s silly remarks. The “nutjob” remark to visiting Russians was in no way dispositive.

    Trump is a foreign object in a very closed system whose members instinctively act like antibodies.  Comey sprang a trap that had been carefully laid by a larger group.  If Rosenstein were acting the in “public interest” as he claimed, the greater focus of any independent probe would have been on the surveillance abuses, unmaskings and illegal leaks surrounding the collusion narrative.  The fact that he did not proves he was merely the voice of the threatened establishment hive.

    • #21
  22. James Gawron Inactive
    James Gawron
    @JamesGawron

    Old Bathos (View Comment):
    In appointing Mueller, Rosenstein was responding to Comey’s veiled allegations regarding his firing rather than any of Trump’s silly remarks. The “nutjob” remark to visiting Russians was in no way dispositive.

    Trump is a foreign object in a very closed system whose members instinctively act like antibodies. Comey sprang a trap that had been carefully laid by a larger group. If Rosenstein were acting the in “public interest” as he claimed, the greater focus of any independent probe would have been on the surveillance abuses, unmaskings and illegal leaks surrounding the collusion narrative. The fact that he did not proves he was merely the voice of the threatened establishment hive.

    OldB,

    Agreed.

    Regards,

    Jim

    • #22
  23. A-Squared Inactive
    A-Squared
    @ASquared

    Old Bathos (View Comment):
    Trump is a foreign object in a very closed system whose members instinctively act like antibodies.

    This is core of your argument. Trump is awesome and any resistance to him is driven by treason.

    I come at it from a different angle, once independent of party affiliation. As a result, we will never see eye-to-eye.

    I will never convince you that Trump bears any responsility for the appointment of special investigator and you will never convince me that he doesn’t.

    • #23
  24. Gary Robbins Member
    Gary Robbins
    @GaryRobbins

    TBA (View Comment):

    Gary Robbins (View Comment):

    i am willing for the process to play itself out.

    That is generous of you.

    But what about a fair and speedy trial?

    According to John Yoo, Mueller is moving quickly.

    If Comey had not been fired, this could have been wrapped up by now.

    • #24
  25. DrewInWisconsin Member
    DrewInWisconsin
    @DrewInWisconsin

    This seems worth noting:

    McCabe Initiated White House Meeting That Led To Leak

    Please tell me again how the FBI should automatically be given the benefit of the doubt.

    Because I need a good laugh today.

    • #25
  26. The Reticulator Member
    The Reticulator
    @TheReticulator

    A-Squared (View Comment):

    Old Bathos (View Comment):
    Trump is a foreign object in a very closed system whose members instinctively act like antibodies.

    This is core of your argument. Trump is awesome and any resistance to him is driven by treason.

    Being a foreign object doesn’t necessarily mean being awesome.

    • #26
  27. A-Squared Inactive
    A-Squared
    @ASquared

    The Reticulator (View Comment):

    A-Squared (View Comment):

    Old Bathos (View Comment):
    Trump is a foreign object in a very closed system whose members instinctively act like antibodies.

    This is core of your argument. Trump is awesome and any resistance to him is driven by treason.

    Being a foreign object doesn’t necessarily mean being awesome.

    It doesn’t necessarily, but it was obvious what he meant.

    • #27
  28. The Reticulator Member
    The Reticulator
    @TheReticulator

    A-Squared (View Comment):

    The Reticulator (View Comment):

    A-Squared (View Comment):

    Old Bathos (View Comment):
    Trump is a foreign object in a very closed system whose members instinctively act like antibodies.

    This is core of your argument. Trump is awesome and any resistance to him is driven by treason.

    Being a foreign object doesn’t necessarily mean being awesome.

    It doesn’t necessarily, but it was obvious what he meant.

    Obviously.

    • #28
  29. The Reticulator Member
    The Reticulator
    @TheReticulator

    The Reticulator (View Comment):

    A-Squared (View Comment):

    The Reticulator (View Comment):

    A-Squared (View Comment):

    Old Bathos (View Comment):
    Trump is a foreign object in a very closed system whose members instinctively act like antibodies.

    This is core of your argument. Trump is awesome and any resistance to him is driven by treason.

    Being a foreign object doesn’t necessarily mean being awesome.

    It doesn’t necessarily, but it was obvious what he meant.

    Obviously.

    Or do it the Cathy Newman way:

    OB: “Trump is a foreign object in a very closed system whose members instinctively act like antibodies.”

    CN: “So you’re saying Trump is awesome.”

    • #29
  30. A-Squared Inactive
    A-Squared
    @ASquared

    The Reticulator (View Comment):
     

    OB: “Trump is a foreign object in a very closed system whose members instinctively act like antibodies.”

    CN: “So you’re saying Trump is awesome.”

    The whole point of this thread is that anyone who says the investigation should proceed normally is a Republican-In-Name-Only.

    I feel confident in my interpretation.

    • #30
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