If I jumped too fast, I apologize, but I am tired of the GOP apologists.
As for RINOs only being in season in the primary, that's a RINO/incumbent talking point. Keeping them does more damage in more ways than most people think.
Not only does it entrench them and make it harder to remove them, they obstruct the conservative agenda while advancing their liberal one. Have 'Republicans' endorse liberal ideas gives political cover to the liberals and allows the MSM to point to conservatives and call them 'evil', 'radicals', and extremists.
RINOs should be in season all the time and be removed at any opportunity. Look at Specter and Chafee as examples. Look at the Democrat support that they both garner in the general AND the primary races. Specter came to Pittsburgh 2 years ago to a Jewish businessman meeting. He pleaded with them to switch registration and vote for him in the primary. The only problem was he was speaking to Jewish Republicans.
If we don't take them out in the general, we only weaken ourselves in the long run. Don't worry, this hardline approach won't catch on all at once and everywhere so all the RINOs won't be dumped right away and throw control to the Dems. But it must be started. It must be done. We can't have a small minority of liberals who pretend to be Republican blocking, or even setting, the GOP / conservative agenda
I would rather shun them while we have leadership, than let a Democrat take their seat.
The Republican party is really bad about giving these guys any influence or authority. Take Spectre and the judiciary as an example.
But letting Dems take their seat does not solve the problem.
What we should do is
a) Give them no authority within the Congress
b) Grow a replacement and then support them in the primary
c) If they still win the primary, their constituency is clearly left leaning so we should let them have the job (graze, not support) and work on the next time around.