Rockefeller Republican

Rockefeller Republican (often termed "moderate Republican") refers to a faction of the United States Republican Party who hold moderate to liberal views similar to those of Nelson Rockefeller. The term largely fell out of use by the end of the twentieth century, and has been replaced by the terms "moderate Republican" and, pejoratively, "RINO" (Republican In Name Only). Modern Rockefeller Republicans are typically center-right, reject far-right policies, and are often, but not necessarily, culturally liberal. Many espouse government and private investments in environmentalism, healthcare and higher education as necessities for the nation's growth, in the tradition of Nelson Rockefeller, Alexander Hamilton and Theodore Roosevelt. In general, Rockefeller Republicans oppose socialism and the redistribution of wealth while supporting some regulation of business and federal social programs in matters pertaining to the public good. They represent a diversity of views on foreign policy, but historically most were considered "hawks" against communism and strong supporters of American business abroad. Richard Nixon -- a moderate, establishment Republican within the Party's contemporary ideological framework -- founded the Environmental Protection Agency, cooled tensions with China and the Soviet Union, and in 1971 announced he was a Keynesian. Rockefeller Republicans were very common in the New England, West Coast, and the Middle Atlantic States, where there historically existed larger "liberal" constituencies.