The slander “RINO” or “Republican-In-Name-Only” has never made sense to me. I fully understand what conservatives who use it are trying to say—that a Republican who votes for higher taxes, less freedom and bigger government isn’t living up to what the GOP is supposed to stand for. The problem is, big government is precisely what the GOP has stood for most of the time. Barry Goldwater and Ronald Reagan were unique exceptions. Presidents Nixon and both Bushes more accurately reflected the general Republican rule. Most of the time “conservatism” has meant little more than Republicans promising to be slightly better than the Democrats and then not even living up to that promise, as government has grown significantly under each successive president regardless of party.
One of my favorite routines by comedian Chris Rock is his skit about the trained tiger that attacked one half of the famous magician duo “Siegfried and Roy” a number of years ago. Rock hilariously mocked those who claimed that the tiger “went crazy.” No, Rock explained, “That tiger didn’t go crazy, that tiger went tiger!”
Liberals and more than a few Republicans now say the Tea Party represents a GOP gone crazy. But actually the current debt-conscious and fiscally stubborn portion of the GOP more closely represents what both its supporters and critics have always perceived Republicans to be: The party of small government. Siegfried and Roy fans can agree that trained tigers don’t usually attack, but they would likely also agree that such behavior isn’t exactly uncharacteristic of a tiger. Many conservatives can agree that most of the time the Republican Party doesn’t usually try to limit government—but they would also agree that characteristically, it has always been considered the party of limited government.
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