Putting it succinctly, A RINO is a person who claims to be a Republican, but who does not hold to basic conservative Republican party ideals.

It is relatively easy to spot a RINO, because they do not hold to a traditional conservative Republican value system.

A RINO will NOT hold to one or more of the following core Republican positions:

• Belief in individual person’s right to life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness, whether man, woman, elderly, child or yet unborn.
• Defending the Constitution and the Bill of Rights; especially the right to keep and bear arms, and the right to practice the religion of ones own choosing.
• Protecting the rights of the family against illegitimate government intrusions.
• Standing for a strong national defense, and fulfilling our commitment to our veterans.
• Keeping our commitments to our allies, and opposing totalitarian regimes.
• Holding the Federal government to its legitimate constitutional functions.
• Opposing judicial activism, and oppressive taxation by congress, states and local governments.
• Defending the right to commerce, and the individual’s right to work.
• Sound environmental stewardship, and opposition to protectionism.
• An affordable private healthcare system that is accessible to all.
• Supporting individual state public education systems by keeping them local.
• Supporting local law enforcement, and defending our borders.

Updated: As per the suggestion in the comments section, any Republican that has voted for any version of the Healthcare Bill IS a RINO.  Any Republican that has voted for the Wall Street Bailouts IS a RINO.  These two transformative votes could not be a more clear indication of core beliefs.

• Opposing all bailouts of Wall Street Firms
• Opposing the mandate to buy insurance foisted on the American people
• Supports the repeal of the Healthcare Bill signed by President Obama

This is not an exclusive list, but does cover those general areas most usually forsaken by a RINO.