"rock-ribbed"? Gee, where on earth do we ever hear that term used? Ah, I remember. It is a phrase used by liberals to describe those people in the opposing party who they also characterize as "independent-minded" and worst of all..."mavericks".
The choice of words, to those who pay attention to liberal-speak, is not a coincidence.
All we have to do is help Sarah Palin get the nomination. Once that’s done, those rock-ribbed(hard headed?) Republicans will come around. If they don’t, well,then we’ll know what kind of Republicans they really are.