LINO (Latino In Name Only) is a spinoff term from the earlier RINO (Republican In Name Only). “RINO” has been cited in print from at least 1992. “LINO” has been cited in print since at least 2009.
 
“LINO” is an epithet usually directed at Republicans and concervatives by Democrats and progressives. The term “LINO” received publicity in May 2013 when it was directed at Senator Ted Cruz (R-TX) by a staffer at the website BuzzFeed—a cultural site that seemingly covers politics impartially.
 
         
Edge (New York, NY)
Coming soon :: GLAAD 2.0
by Scott Stiffler
EDGE Contributor
Monday Jul 27, 2009
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COMMENTS
Anonymous, 2009-07-29 14:09:41
well, barrios appears to fit the part of the lino (latino in name only) or gino (gay in name only). aha, i got it, glino. that’s glaad 2.000, the millenial melt down. glaad itself is verging on the brink of stereotypical humorless do-gooders.
 
Section JC07 (Freshman Seminar @ Baruch College
Coloring Up your Future
By cedobor– November 17, 2009
I went to a workshop that was intended to be a meeting of the LGBT club with the guest speaker Alfonso Quiroz. Luckily, it was good enough for a workshop and kids started filing in. The guest speaker was a gay Mexican man who wanted to speak to us about being gay in the workplace. He talked of the many interesting jobs he had in his lifetime and how they affected him. His main goal was to try and help everyone understand that you should be able to be who you are in your workplace otherwise you won’t really enjoy your job. He talked about how being gay didn’t really affect him when he ran for a seat in the City council, however his race did. He was discriminated against because he is half Mexican even being called a Lino, a Latino in name only.
     
The Contemplative Thinker
Latino in Name Only (LINO)…
November 15, 2010
Now, now, where’s my guy who scribbled locations by hand of American troop movements in the sand and what have you done to Geraldo Rivera? If we had not read and responded to his last attempt at real, yet contemptible journalism that was in a word despicable; moreover, had we not witnessed the transformation of this “Latino In Name Only” or LINO, we’d have our doubts that Geraldo even exists.
 
Seattle (WA) Times
Originally published Saturday, December 18, 2010 at 5:00 PM
Latino Republicans get no respect
The stereotype of the monolithic Hispanic community lives not only in the minds of non-Latinos, writes Esther Cepeda, it is also alive and well in the minds of Latinos who can’t stomach the idea that one of their own could be associated with the GOP.
By Esther Cepeda
Syndicated columnist
CHICAGO — Traitor. Sellout. Lino (Latino in name only). These are some of the epithets Latino Republicans are called by fellow Hispanics who can’t imagine why any self-respecting descendant of Latin American immigrants would ever carry water for the Republican Party.
   
The Huffington Post
Latino Vote 2012: Ted Cruz Victory Spells Challenge For Democrats As Republicans Cultivate Hispanic Candidates (VIDEO)
Posted: 08/06/2012 8:32 pm
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COMMENTS
Chi Man Sam
08:21 PM on 08/07/2012
A man should not be judged by the color
of his skin, but by the content of his character.
 
Okay he is Latino In Name Only, or Lino
To the above quote, on his character’s content
I think he running on empty, when it comes to us.
 
Beyond Occupy2
April 30. 3013
Latino in Name Only #LINO news DREAMERS CONFRONT #GOP #TED #CRUZ ON IMMIGRATION
 
Breitbart.com
BuzzFeed Staffer: Ted Cruz ‘Latino In Name Only’
by John Nolte21 May 2013
How many offenses before BuzzFeed is labeled a hate site? Well, not three.
 
Tuesday afternoon, using her Twitter feed, BuzzFeed staffer Aswini Anburajan lashed out at Senator Ted Cruz (R-TX) for not being left-wing enough when it comes to immigration. Anbuarajan not only knocked the Senator’s chances at becoming president due to his stand on “immig and benefits;” she attacked Cruz racially, declaring him a LINO, or Latin In Name Only.
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Apparently, “Latino” is a political position, not an ethnicity.
   
The Daily Caller
BuzzFeed’s Anburajan: Ted Cruz a ‘LINO’ — ‘Latino in Name Only’
By Jeff Poor
4:51 PM 05/21/2013
In a post on her Twitter account, Buzzfeed Director of Partnership Development Aswini Anburajan took a swipe at Texas Republican Sen. Ted Cruz’s ethnicity, calling him a “LINO,” or a “latino in name only.”
 
Anburajan, who is also a contributor to WNYC’s “It’s a Free Country” blog, the website for the New York City NPR affiliate, also knocked Cruz’s presidential aspirations for his opposition to giving undocumented immigrants government benefits : “Ted Cruz is a LINO ‘latino in name only’ good luck w/ prez aspirations w/ that stand on undoc immig and benefits”