Op-Ed: The GOP Needs to Be Strong - That Won't Happen by Fighting Each Other
The battle between ideological factions of the Republican Party has raged on for years and has created more enmity than mutual understanding.
On one side there are the so-called RINOs — Republicans in Name Only — who are branded by their opponents as unpatriotic, selfish and careless of the freedoms that undergird our republic. And then there are those sometimes branded as the “crazies” — the folks charged with having incongruous beliefs, little regard for winning elections and a severe lack of social decorum.
I probably shouldn’t pick a side, but considering my participation in so many conservative rallies and my strong support for former President Donald Trump, I suppose I would be placed in the crazy camp. But that is not why I am writing. I am writing to raise a few questions: How can we as Republicans be strong in our convictions and still tolerate those in our party who disagree with us? What do the RINOs have to do to make themselves palatable to their crazy counterparts? What do crazies have to accept for them to stop attacking RINOs?
In introductory courses to anatomy and physiology, we learn that, just like muscles, human bones grow and strengthen under pressure, and weaken when barely put to use. We could use this fact as a metaphor for our party. The pressures faced by party leaders and Republican candidates are undoubtedly tough, but they make our party stronger in the end. What is needed is a way to deal with the pressures so that we grow as a party and maintain our conservative convictions.
And so I ask: What exactly makes someone a RINO and what makes someone a crazy?
Here’s what I know. The term RINO caught fire during the ascendency of Donald Trump. Trump faced 16 other challengers for the GOP’s presidential nomination and was, by many standards, an outsider in his campaign for president. His rhetoric was fiery and direct, and it resonated with folks like myself.
At the time, many of us who were new to the party considered Republicans stodgy, out-of-touch versions of Ned Flanders from “The Simpsons.” In contrast, Trump was charismatic, tough and plainspoken. He dominated debates with governors and senators with long pedigrees and made us laugh along the way.
He also used his outsider status to claim that the RINOs in power were not serious about making changes. He contended that RINOs would say anything to get in power but ultimately did nothing once there. Trump’s victory in the primaries and the 2016 election opened the floodgates for RINO hunting season.
On the other side were the so-called RINOs themselves. These were folks who were Republicans through the best and worst of times. For years, they had staffed GOP booths at county fairs, supported Republican candidates and took verbal lashings from their liberal friends. But with the rise of the Tea Party and then Trump, they saw their party embrace the rage engulfing many parts of the U.S.
People who were left out of the changing economy, tired of leftist tactics and concerned about the growing bloat of the federal government demanded to be heard. They spoke out forcefully and often did so in less than respectful ways.
I was and still am tired of the political word salads served up by run-of-the-mill politicians. I am frustrated with the be-seen-and-not-heard attitude of RINOs. My city, Baltimore, is crumbling both socially and literally. Our homicide rates increase year after year, our school systems accept underperformance as the status quo and our poverty seems never-ending.
Like many black folks, I learned that merely speaking out on these issues was an affront to the Democratic establishment of my city. Many of us, particularly working-class black Americans, turned to the Republican Party for something different. Again, we found ourselves at odds with the old establishment. We were told to be seen, but not heard. We were to idly pose for photos, but not pressure Republican candidates on issues that mattered so greatly to us.
This problem was not confined to people who look like me but was faced by many others: mothers of all races fearing the rise of leftist education policies, workers who lost their jobs due to vaccine mandates, small business owners who saw their hard work succumb to businesses that hired illegal immigrants. Their grievances were real and yet the RINOs seemed more fixating on winning elections than on defining what winning could actually mean.
The assault on RINOs has not been productive either. The term “RINO” is thrown around so often that it has become a liquid noun — it takes whatever form the user wants. A RINO could be a Purple Heart veteran supporting Maryland Gov. Larry Hogan. A RINO could also be an evangelical grandma who simply wants people to be respectful to one another. The label is meant to be disobliging, but it sadly does little to articulate the accuser’s grievances.
The old joke goes, “A Democrat is a Republican who hasn’t been mugged yet.” It suggests that Democrats are naive and that Republicans have the scars to back up their beliefs. Maybe the same could be said about crazies and RINOs: A RINO is a crazy who hasn’t been mugged by leftist policies yet.
The last thing that injured folks need is a kumbaya call for peace and unity. They are angry, and rightly so. And when the RINOs tell the crazies to sit down, wait their turn and blindly support GOP candidates under a unity banner, there is a lot of reason to lash out. The RINOs are forgetting that the crazies demand justice. The crazies have had enough and want to know if their candidate will fight for them and prevent another mugging.
We may never agree with one another, but to really show that our party is ready to lead, we should try to understand one another. As such, RINOs should stop being so arrogant in their views of who is most electable and who is least respectable. Crazies should stop launching verbal firebombs and modeling the tactics of political performance artists.
Both sides should man up and focus on the critical need to articulate a conservative message that will resonate with frustrated voters. Both sides should realize that while politics might seem playful and entertaining on social media platforms, policies have real-life consequences.
Our country needs a Republican Party that will stand up and stand strong in this dark hour. But we cannot do so if we are focused more on fighting each other than on fighting for a better future.
The views expressed in this opinion article are those of their author and are not necessarily either shared or endorsed by the owners of this website. If you are interested in contributing an Op-Ed to The Western Journal, you can learn about our submission guidelines and process here.
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