. . . from RWR himself, anyone with whom I disagree only one time out of five is a friend and an ally, not an enemy. As Governor Haley Barbour said at the MIGOP Convention back in February, you can go a long way with someone you agree with 80% of the time.
We really do need to dial back the overuse of the RINO label . . . save it for those Republicans who truly do not adhere to GOP core principles. When we find ourselves in an internal disagreement, the question we should be asking is: Can we disagree on this matter without compromising the core principles of the party?
For example, I don't necessarily agree with Rep. Amash's support of NRAV, but his position, as he himself articulated it, is well reasoned and defensible. I don't happen to agree with it, but his points are solid. And I see no good reason to make an otherwise solid republitarian "walk the plank" because of a challengeable position.
The Wizard does have a point in that any true Republican will embrace both fiscal and social conservatism. Said Republican will also, on the campaign trail and on the record, point out where his opponent does not, and why that difference is important. At the risk of really irritating Nick, I think that Dick DeVos' big screw-up on 2006 was failing to get squarely behind MCRI (as well as waffling on the debate question that gave him a chance to support right-to-work), and inadequately shredding the Governess based on her record (falsehoods about sexism be damned).
Of course, these are just my thoughts. What follows are the thoughts of my personal politial hero.
