Latest / Commentary - TJ Meadows / He's a RINO... Ok, Prove It!

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He's a RINO... Ok, Prove It! · Commentary - TJ Meadows

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  Speaker 1: He's a rhino, she's a Democrat, says who. That may
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  Speaker 1: be the easiest accusation in modern politics because it requires
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  Speaker 1: so little proof. There is no universal measuring stick for
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  Speaker 1: what makes a real Republican. No gauge on the courthouse wall,
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  Speaker 1: no inspector with a clipboard. Most often it's simply one
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  Speaker 1: candidate declaring another to be unclean. So why use it?
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  Speaker 1: Because it works. It's the grown up version of the
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  Speaker 1: old playground warning cooties, a labelman to separate, to embarrass,
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  Speaker 1: to make voters step back from the accused without ever
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  Speaker 1: asking for evidence. And in a closed primary where party
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  Speaker 1: identity can run deep, it can be especially effective. But
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  Speaker 1: only if we allow it only of voters, except slogans
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  Speaker 1: in place of substance, only if we reward the lazy
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  Speaker 1: shortcut instead of demanding the hard answer. So perhaps in
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  Speaker 1: this upcoming West Virginia primary, the burden belongs not just
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  Speaker 1: to the candidate, but to us as well. Ask them
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  Speaker 1: about jobs, Ask them about roads, Ask them about broadband bridges,
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  Speaker 1: schools and public safety. West Virginia is an energy state.
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  Speaker 1: Ask them if they understand coal natural gas transmission permitting
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  Speaker 1: and how this state can compete in the marketplace and
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  Speaker 1: ask them where they stand on vaccines, taxes, regulations, or
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  Speaker 1: any issue you choose, But ask something real, and if
• 1:28
  Speaker 1: they call someone a rhino, ask for proof. The late
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  Speaker 1: David McKinley was often described as pragmatic, bipartisan, and solutions focused.
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  Speaker 1: Agree or disagree with him. He was known for telling
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  Speaker 1: voters where he stood and why that's a higher standard
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  Speaker 1: than name calling. And if we settle for less, candidates
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  Speaker 1: will keep lowering the bar until stepping over it requires
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  Speaker 1: no effort at all. Surely West Virginia deserves better, and
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  Speaker 1: surely voters should demand it.