Yeah, just because she supported the bailouts, supported cap and trade, supported the confirmation of Sonia Sotomayer and opposed Arizona's attempt to stem the tide of illegal alien invaders doesn't make her a RINO. She's actually a RINA.
A lot of Republicans supported the TARP bailout, which is the only one Fiorina supported...and she was right to. Nearly EVERY expert agrees it saved the economy from a much bigger crash which would have involved far higher levels of govt. spending on unemployment, welfare, etc. Most of the bailout has been paid back, so the actual cost of it comes in well under $100 billion-—pretty cheap to save the economy from the calamity nearly every economic and financial expert, conservative and liberal, say would have ensued.
As for cap and trade, she supported a far different version of cap and trade than our current one. It was a VOLUNTARY and MARKET BASED system of alotments and trades given out without initial cost or taxation to any business and allowing them to sell or trade their allotments as they under utilized them. It was NOT the same plan of tax and punish that Obama and the Dems are pushing.
As for Whitman not supporting the Arizona law, that’s just smart politics in California. She needs at least some of the Hispanic vote. Brown would have spent the entire election beating her over the head with it which would have probably taken what meager portion of the Hispanic vote she gets away from her. So what? Marco Rubio said he was opposed to it too and he’s not a RINO. Do we really have to be 100% in lock step with prevailing conservative views on EVERYTHING to not be labelled a “RINO?”
What about JD Hayworth being out there on informercials getting paid to tell viewers how to take advantage of government grants? Is he a RINO?