Guest post: Who are the real Republicans In Name Only?

The ultimate goal of Trump and his ilk—Republicans in Name Only—is the destruction of democracy.

RINO. R.I.N.O. Republican in Name Only.

The first time I saw the term, it was used as a pejorative. Republicans in Name Only was used to smear Republicans who did not support Trump or his cohort.

That was hurtful. Republicans are proud people, who value standards and ethics, who are conservative in the sense of not acting too radically or too audaciously. At one time, conservative meant stable, sensible.

Though a born-and-bred Democrat, I was once honored to work in the same arena with Republicans. I took for granted that we wanted the same outcomes, that we worked for the same people, that, in short, we all worked for the common good.

What happened? Personality over policy. Indifference over integrity. Greed over gratitude. Bias over benevolence. Patriarchy over patriotism.

I propose that the persons who make fun of that upstanding cadre of patriots are the real RINOs. According to the platform posted on gop.com, Republicans stand for the following: economic prosperity, preserving American values and traditions, protecting constitutionally-guaranteed freedoms, and restoring the American dream for every citizen of this great nation. The prettiest feather in their cap is that they were founded to abolish slavery.

Recent Republican legislation and Project 2025, the Republican agenda publish by the Heritage Foundation, indicates opposing goals:

• Economic prosperity (but Project 2025 policies would raise costs and take away health coverage, food assistance, and other help)
• Preserving American values and traditions (The United States was founded by immigrants. Donald Trump claims immigrants are “poisoning the blood of our country.”)
• Protecting constitutionally-guaranteed freedoms, e.g., freedom of speech (Chapter 8 of Project 2025 describes strategies for defunding public media. Republican-majority legislatures have passed laws banning works of classical literature from public education.)
• Party was founded in 1854 for the purpose of ending slavery (The Right to Vote Act [1965] has been weakened by Republican judges [Shelby County v. Holder, 2013, and Brnovich v. Democratic National Committee]. These verdicts predominately affect minorities, many of whom are descendants of slaves.)
• Restoring the American dream for every citizen of this great nation, e.g., the ability to worship according to one’s religious beliefs. (A number of Republican candidates are declaring that Christianity should be the national religion of the United States.)

MAGA devotees are Republicans in Name Only and they have corrupted and dismantled the Republican Party of Abraham Lincoln. They have—through chicanery, bullying, law-breaking and violence—cowed the members of their party who were truly conservative.

Violence is never conservative. Dismantling the union is never conservative. The party of conservative policy has become the party of destruction.

The ultimate goal of Trump and his ilk is the destruction of democracy. Who’d have ever thought?

Dianne Prichard, a former teacher-turned-preacher, lives in DeWitt. She can be reached by email here.