(Chuck Muth) – So what exactly is a RINO?

RINO stands for “Republican In Name Only” and is a derogatory term used by conservatives to describe Republican elected officials who vote like, well, Democrats. Not just occasionally or on legitimately bi-partisan, non-ideological bills, but consistently on legislation which violates core conservative principles of limited government, low taxation, individual liberty, free market economics, law and order and a strong national defense.

To ascertain with relative certainty whether or not some Nevada Republican state legislators are RINOs, let’s take a look at the 2009 Legislature…with a hat tip to comedian Jeff Foxworthy:

• If you’re a Republican who voted for Democrat Assemblywoman Barbara Buckley to be Speaker of the Assembly for the 2009 legislative session

• If you refused to sign the Taxpayer Protection Pledge promising the voters of your district that you would oppose and vote against any and all efforts to increase taxes, especially in the middle of the worst recession in modern history, you might be a RINO.

• If you voted for a $292 million tax hike (IP1) on the state’s lifeblood, tourism, as a payoff to the teachers’ union, you might be a RINO.

• If you voted for a bill (SB 14) to increase the cost of obtaining a government-issued marriage license, you might be a RINO.

• If you voted for two bills (AB 64, AB 65) to increase court fees/taxes, you might be a RINO.

• If you voted for a bill (SB 433) to raise taxes for state employee salaries, you might be a RINO.

• If you voted for a nanny-state bill (SB 132) which allows the government to tell you how long your dog leash has to be, you might be a RINO.

• If you voted for a bill (SB 201) to increase fuel taxes, you might be a RINO.

• If you voted for a bill (SB 394) to require government registration for off-road vehicles, including a hefty new government registration fee, you might be a RINO.

• If you voted for a bill (AB 121) in which the government tells private hospitals how many nurses they have to hire, you might be a RINO.

• If you voted for a ridiculous bill (AB 229) to require that all cigarettes sold in Nevada be self-extinguishing, you might be a RINO.

• If you voted for an anti-free market bill (AB 243) forcing employers to give workers time off to go to school plays and sporting events, you might be a RINO.

• If you voted for a bill (AB 254) making the taxpayer-funded racist position of Ombudsman of Consumer Affairs for Minorities permanent, you might be a RINO.

• If you voted for a nanny-state bill (AB 433) which expands police powers by making failure to wear a seatbelt a “primary” offense, you might be a RINO.

• If you voted for a bill (AB 543) which raids local governments and shifts local money into the state government’s coffers, you might be a RINO.

• If you voted for a spending bill (AB 562) which increased government spending by about $800 million over and above the governor’s proposed budget, you might be a RINO.

• If you voted for a bill (AB 162) which adds a new premium-increasing government mandate to insuance policies in Nevada, you might be a RINO.

• If you voted for a bill (AB 202) to change the term “manicurist” to “nail technologist” as well as add new government regulations, you might be a RINO.

Now, if you’re a Republican legislator and you voted for ALL of these bills in the 2009 legislative session, it’s not that you *might* be a RINO….you ARE a RINO.

The above, by the way is the voting record of Republican state Assemblyman Tom Grady. Sadly, Republican Assembly Minority Leader Heidi Gansert, Assembly Assistant Minority Leader Lynn Stewart, Assembly Republican Whip Pete Goicoechea and Assemblyman Joe Hardy all have very similar voting records.

And because of their decidedly un-Republican voting records, every one of them should face a Republican primary challenge next year. Because the GOP can’t go to voters and ask them to vote for Republican candidates instead of Democrat incumbents when Republicans are voting the same way as the Democrats.

Don’t get me wrong. This is not to say these folks are bad people; they’re just bad Republicans. Don’t read my lips; just read their records.

The GOP needs to get its own house in order first before it can credibly complain about Democrats. That’s why Citizen Outreach PAC has launched “Operation RINO Hunt,” a project geared toward recruiting, training and assisting conservative candidates in GOP primary races against liberal-voting Republicans. For more information, visit our website at www.CitizenOutreachPAC.com

And finally, for those who will claim the above is “negative campaigning,” I refer you to this quote by the late political strategist Maury Chotiner: “To tell the truth about your opponent is not dirty politics.” Amen.