[ekwd]

Perhaps you could give me an education in politics here. I was under the impression that RINO's like Snowe, Collins, and Chaffee get elected because they are RINO's and that no conservative could be elected in Maine or Rhode Island. I am also under the impression that it takes both conservatives and RINO's to elect a Republicans in Ohio and some other mid-western states. Am I wrong? If I am not, just exactly how does it help this country if we (I insist that I am a conservative too) evict those RINO's from Ronald Reagan's "Big Tent" and turn the congress and probably the presidency over to the Democrats in the process.

[Allen H]

You are pretty much right. Most of the RINOs are there because a real conservative couldn't get elected in those states. With a couple of exceptions, like McCain and Dewine. It's a lesser of two evils kind of thing. They're only Republicans half the time and frequently vote with democrats, and don't even agree with half of the Republican party plank, and most times, even less of the beliefs of the conservative movement. They help create a numerical majority in the Senate, but really, it's a paper tiger majority, because the RINOs have neither the inclination, desire, or will to do what the conservative majority of the country wants. If they were to retire or were defeated, it would be to a democrat because most of their states do not have enough registered conservative voters to put a real conservative in office.

This is all likely to change when some or all of the 11 democrat Senators that are in VERY red states that Bush won BIG, are replaced by conservative Republicans over the years. There are only three Republican Senators in very blue states, so that is a clear large advantage the Republcans have in the coming years. It's just getting from here to there that is the hassle. 8) But it's a positive outlook.

[gogeo]

I don't think it makes sense either. RINOs are nice to have, but not part of a stable majority. That stable majority should come from defeating red senators from blue states.