Democrat In Name Only
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DINO stands for Democrat In Name Only, a disparaging but seldom-used term for a member of the modern-day United States Democratic Party whose words and actions are thought to be too fiscally or socially conservative. The term Fox News liberal has also been used in this context.
The term was created as an analogous opposite to the acronym RINO (Republican In Name Only), which is far more commonly used and refers to more liberal members of the United States Republican Party. The two acronyms are, at the same time, puns on the popular English-language shortenings of the words rhinoceros and dinosaur.
Both terms are used by more ideological (politically speaking) members of either party to challenge fellow party members for their maverick or moderate positions. In some cases, the platforms of the members in question are not even necessarily close to the opponents—they just do not necessarily follow the party line in every case. Examples might include Senator John McCain, whose voting record is conservative on many issues, or Senator Joe Lieberman, who has a liberal record on many domestic matters. In any case, RINOs and DINOs harken back to a time when both parties had liberal and conservatives wings. Many of the RINOs are a remnant of the moderate Eisenhower/Nixon wing of the Republican Party, which was especially powerful in Northeastern United States. Many (but not all) of the DINOs are conservatives from the former Confederate states which were predominantly Democratic states until 50 years ago. Unlike those who switched parties, these DINOs are content to remain Democrats.
Putative DINOs
Democrats who have been accused of being DINOs include:
- Sen. Joe Lieberman of Connecticut, a hawkish supporter of much of the Bush administration's foreign policy (TomPaine.com, July 17, 2002 (http://www.tompaine.com/feature.cfm/ID/6012), See also numerous obscure sources listed on Google (http://www.google.com/search?q=Lieberman+Democrat+%22name+only%22))
- Former Sen. Zell Miller of Georgia, keynote speaker at the 2004 Republican National Convention (called an "in name only" (http://www.dallasnews.com/sharedcontent/dws/news/washington/stories/090204dnpolmiller.5fb93.html) by Terry McAuliffe), who had a 94% voting record with the Republican leadership from 2003 to 2004
- Sen. Max Baucus of Montana (The American Prospect, Dec 30, 2002 (http://www.prospect.org/web/page.ww?section=root&name=ViewPrint&articleId=6662))
- Sen. Ben Nelson of Nebraska, a supporter of the Federal Marriage Amendment
- Sen. Mary Landrieu of Louisiana, who voted for three most conservative Bush appellate court nominees (Janice Rogers Brown, Priscilla Owen and William Pryor).
- Sen. Ken Salazar of Colorado, who voted for and introduced Attorney General Alberto Gonzales and sat by his side during Gonzales' confirmation hearings.