R. I. N. O. For years these letters formed an acrostic that stood for Republican-In-Name-Only, and it still does for millions of conservatives betrayed by the lying liars within the GOP. However, under Donald Trump—a man lacking any conservative convictions—it has come to stand for other things.
When it comes to Trump, a lifelong New York liberal until he decided to run for president, RINO still stands for Republican-In-Name-Only, but on two of his biggest campaign promises—repealing Obamacare and fixing illegal immigration—it has been given two new meanings.
On the repeal of Obamacare, RINO stood for Repeal-In-Name-Only as Trump literally took both sides of the issue in an effort to force Congress to do what he was unwilling to do to kill the disastrous health care bill. Though he campaigned on a promise to repeal Obamacare and replace it with “insurance for everybody” that would be “much better” and much less expensive,” Trump’s lack of a repeal plan of his own left him without a bully pulpit to keep his promise.
In the end, Trump was left with no option other than to support the GOP’s fake repeal that kept nearly all of Obamacare in effect—a bill that fortunately failed.
Which brings us to illegal immigration. In a display of his lack of backbone when dealing with controversial issues—unless he’s on Twitter—Trump had Attorney General Jeff Sessions announce that the administration would be rescinding Obama’s Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) executive order.
This will now be referred to using the newest RINO acrostic—Rescind-In-Name-Only.
Under the plan, no new DACA applications are permitted, but those already under the protection of DACA can apply for a two-year extension during the next six months—a period of time allegedly given to allow Congress to “fix” the system that protects so-called DREAMers.
I use the word “allegedly” because Trump is really giving Congress this time in order to pass legislation granting amnesty and a pathway to citizenship—a stated objective of Trump’s “big heart” approach to the DREAMer problem.
Further evidence of Trump’s “heart” is seen in an ABC News report where he states that enforcing immigration laws against DREAMers is a low priority concern.
“Our enforcement priorities remain unchanged. We are focused on criminals, security threats, recent border-crossers, visa overstays, and repeat violators. I have advised the Department of Homeland Security that DACA recipients are not enforcement priorities unless they are criminals, are involved in criminal activity, or are members of a gang.”
It is also being reported by those within the administration that Trump has no intention of rescinding Obama’s executive order six months from now if Congress fails to pass a permanent DACA bill—a point Trump appeared to confirm last night.
Congress now has 6 months to legalize DACA (something the Obama Administration was unable to do). If they can't, I will revisit this issue!
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) September 6, 2017
In the end, Trump’s Rescind-In-Name-Only order allows him to pass the buck while claiming he kept his promise to rescind DACA. Meanwhile, so-called conservatives and members of the Trump cult will continue to sing his praises while Congress works to provide amnesty and/or citizenship for these illegal immigrants.
David Leach is the owner of The Strident Conservative, your source for opinion that’s politically-incorrect and always “right.” His articles can also be found on RedState.com.
His daily radio commentary is nationally syndicated with Salem Radio Network and can be heard on stations across America.
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