What exactly is a RINO? RINO stands for "Republican In Name Only," a derogatory term used by conservatives to describe Republican elected officials who vote like, well, Democrats. And to ascertain whether or not some Nevada Republican state legislators are RINOs, let's take a Jeff Foxworthy-like look at the 2009 Legislature:
If you're a Republican who voted for Democrat Assemblywoman Barbara Buckley to be Speaker of the Assembly for the 2009 legislative session, you might be a RINO.
If you voted for a $292 million tax hike on the state's lifeblood, tourism, as a payoff to the teachers' union, you might be a RINO.
If you voted for a bill to increase the cost of obtaining a government-issued marriage license, you might be a RINO.
If you voted for a nanny-state bill that allows the government to tell you how long your dog leash has to be, you might be a RINO.
If you voted for a bill to increase fuel taxes, you might be a RINO.
If you voted for a bill to require government registration for off-road vehicles, including a hefty new government registration fee, you might be a RINO.
If you voted for a bill in which the government tells private hospitals how many nurses they have to hire, you might be a RINO.
If you voted for a bill to require that all cigarettes sold in Nevada be self-extinguishing, you might be a RINO.
If you voted for a bill forcing employers to give workers time off to go to school plays and sporting events, you might be a RINO.
If you voted for a bill making the taxpayer-funded position of Ombudsman of Consumer Affairs for Minorities permanent, you might be a RINO.
If you voted for a nanny-state bill that expands police powers by making failure to wear a seatbelt a "primary" offense, you might be a RINO.
If you voted for a bill that raids local governments and shifts local money into the state government's coffers, you might be a RINO.
If you voted for a spending bill that increased government spending by about $800 million over and above the governor's proposed budget, you might be a RINO.
Now, if you're a Republican legislator and you voted for all of these bills in the 2009 legislative session, it's not that you "might" be a RINO, you are a RINO.
The above, by the way, is the voting record of Republican state Assemblyman Tom Grady. If it walks like a RINO and votes like a RINO....
• Chuck Muth is president of Citizen Outreach, a non-profit public policy grassroots advocacy organization.