Americans for Prosperity, the American Conservative Union, Club for Growth, the National Rifle Association (NRA), and National Right to Life are other trusted organizations whose scorecards and rating systems conservatives look to as a way to measure candidates’ bona fides.

Or are they?

Sen. Marco Rubio, the most recent presidential candidate to whom the RINO label has been attached, scored a 94 percent rating from Heritage Action, 98 percent from Americans for Prosperity, 98 percent from the American Conservative Union, 93 percent from Club for Growth, 100 percent from National Right to Life, and received an “A” rating from the NRA.

Rubio was recently endorsed by South Carolina Rep. Trey Gowdy, a Tea Party darling.

The moment Gowdy announced he was backing Rubio, conservatives who had once hailed Gowdy as the ideal candidate for Speaker of the House suddenly declared him a RINO.