Tracing the Evolution of our Partisan Politics through Past Party Platforms
The term RINO has become derogative term used to describe someone who is supposedly a Republican in name only. Functionally, a RINO is now any Republican who fails to strictly adhere to the dictates of Donald Trump. But who are the real RINOs and what does it mean to a “true” Republican? The same question can also be asked of Democrats.
Being a Democratic or Republican has meant different things at different times over the decades. A Republican now may have been a Democrat in the past and a Republican, a Democrat. When did the parties evolve into their present manifestations, and what prompted their political evolutions? Answers to these questions can be found in the party platforms.