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>>> A RINO is a Republican In Name Only. It means someone who calls himself a Republican but hold Democrat views.>>>

I respectfully agree - only mostly but not totally.

It is true that all RINO’s hold at least some liberal views. But how many views does it take to be RINO? Or are there specific views that make you RINO automatically? I would say all RINO’s are liberal Republicans - but not all liberal Republicans are RINOs.

Take McCain: he’s pro life, which in some peoples mind puts him on the correct side of the single RINO issue - and yet he is still the quintessential RINO. Why? He actively seeks out the media when he is bashing other Republicans or the Republican base views. Same with Graham and Snow and media types like Scarborough and Brooks and luminaries like Powell and so on. Their careers are defined by their public defiance to the party. It’s what defines them.

Now this is not to say that liberal or moderate REpublicans are a good thing under any circumstance. They are not. For example, Rudy G (and I use him because he’s not runnning so no one will construe this as an endorsement, because it is not) is more liberal than McCain on social issues and probably more conservative on issues of terror, taxes and regulations. Yet Rudy rarely if ever goes out of his way to tick off the base or to trash other Republicans to gain media cred. He just happens to live a liberal life. And ironically, he was more committed to Scalia type judges that Mac would ever be....very ironically.

Conversely, Rudy has put his liberalism aside at times to give stem winding conservative speeches at conventions highlighting where he agrees with the base. McCain and Graham (and Huntsman) have NEVER done that and never will.

But I digress: To me, that makes McCain more of a RINO. It’s a nuanced difference, but if “everyone is a RINO then no one is a RINO.” I’d prefer to save the term for those who actively work against my interests and obviously enjoy the fame they get for doing it. That’s a much worse animal than someone I merely disagree with.

A RINO is a former Democrat who gets to run as a Republican in exchange for agreeing to caucus with the Republicans in the legislature or Congress.

It never had anything to do with having Democrat vews ~ which actually don't exist. The Democrat party is made up of a number of Special Interests and they have "institutional views", and where the interests in the coalition happen to agree those views will be taken to be those of the Democrat party.