Conservatives in Name Only
The term “CINO” may be just what we need to sort the wheat from the chaff in political philosophy in America, just as “RINO” helps us understand American party politics.
By Robert Curry
July 11, 2021
In a recent piece here at American Greatness, I wrote: “It would be helpful if we had a term to designate this chorus of American voices that claims to be against the Progressives and yet, like the Progressives, rejects the founders’ idea of America.”
This group deserves a name—and a name for them that catches on could do some good, the kind of good that “RINO” does.
“RINO”—Republican In Name Only—is one of the more useful terms we have in our contemporary political lexicon. A RINO is a person who claims to be a Republican yet often, or even as often as politically possible, votes with the Democrats. We use this term to clarify a basic reality of American party politics.
Hitchhiking on the success of “RINO,” let’s consider “CINO”—Conservative In Name Only (pronounced “kie-no” to rhyme with RINO). An American who claims to be a conservative and yet rejects the founders is a CINO.
Examples are easy to find. Brad Littlejohn provides an excellent one. In a recent book review at The American Conservative, he enthusiastically promoted a book which argues natural rights do not exist. Think about that: the founders staked their lives, their fortunes, and their sacred honor on the proposition that we have rights that are natural, unalienable, and inherent. In America, it’s the Progressives who reject the self-evident truth about our rights proclaimed by the founders. What’s a supposed American conservative doing arguing there are no natural rights? Why, revealing that he is actually a CINO, of course. I discussed Littlejohn’s review and other examples of CINOs at work
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https://amgreatness.com/2021/07/11/conservatives-in-name-only/
