The Political Agenda: December 2009

The Republican National Committee have recently proposed a sort of “Purity Test” demanding candidates embrace at least 8 of 10 conservative principles in order to receive financial backing and endorsement from the RNC. The proposed resolution is based on President Reagan's Unity Principle for Support of Candidates – which basically says that one should ally with people who agree on 80% of the issues rather than bickering over the 20% difference. The test is designed for candidates to prove that they support "conservative principles" while opposing President Obama's super-scary “socialist and Marxist and communist OH MY!” agenda. The proposal underscores the relentless struggle for the ideological soul of the Republican Party between the conservative crazies and the moderate conservatives. The Conservative Purity Test has been met with skepticism from Republicans and party outsiders alike. The test alienates moderate conservatives – which is about 40-60% of America depending on the poll you look at.

This proposition came on the heels of the highly publicized GOP loss in New York's 23rd district, which has been a Republican-held office since the 1800’s. Dede Scozzafava, an RNC-endorsed moderate Republican, was forced out of the race in favor of Doug Hoffman, a more conservative candidate backed by super-conservative figureheads like Glenn Beck and Sarah Palin. After Scozzafava (Don’t you love that name? I do.) dropped out of the race, the RNC shifted its endorsement to Hoffman, who lost to the Democratic candidate, Bill Owens. Fail.

James Bopp Jr., an Indiana attorney, initiated the resolution with the reasoning that "conservatives have lost trust in the Republican party." Bopp also spawned a failed proposal earlier this year that demanded that the Democratic Party rename their party the "Democrat Socialist Party". Bopp and 10 RNC co-sponsors cited Reagan in naming the resolution because the former president said that "someone who agreed with him 8 out of 10 times was his friend, not his opponent."

The 10 guidelines:
(and some commentary)

1. We support smaller government, smaller national debt, lower deficits, and lower taxes by opposing bills like Obama's "stimulus" bill. (I agree. But what about President Bush’s Economic Stimulus Act of 2008? You guys supported that “stimulus” bill.)

2. We support market-based health care reform and oppose Obama-style government run healthcare. (More of the same? ... full text of House Majority Leader John Boehner’s alternative bill: http://rulesrepublicans.house.gov/Media/PDF/RepublicanAlternative3962_9.pdf )

3. We support market-based energy reforms by opposing cap and trade legislation. (Cap and trade isn’t the way to go, but there should be SOME government effort in energy reform ... tax break incentives maybe? Reward energy companies that work on development of “green” technology...)

4. We support workers' right to secret ballot by opposing card check. (I’m with them on this one.)

5. We support legal immigration and assimilation into American society by opposing amnesty for illegal immigrants. (Should we deport them all? Raid some houses? Separate families? Let’s throw in some internment camps for good measure.)

6. We support victory in Iraq and Afghanistan by supporting military-recommended troop surges. (We’ll just keep printing money to pay for those wars, no big.)

7. We support containment of Iran and North Korea, particularly effective action to eliminate their nuclear weapons threat. (Team America, World Police)

8. We support retention of the Defense of Marriage Act. (Yes, that’s really on the list. For those of you who don’t know, that’s the Act that denies same-sex married couples the same federal rights that heterosexual marriages have.)

9. We support protecting the lives of vulnerable persons by opposing health care rationing, denial of health care, and government funding of abortion. (None of those things are even in the current health care reform bill.)

10. We support the right to keep and bear arms by opposing government restrictions on gun ownership. (I agree!)

This is why I can’t be in the Republican Party. They won’t let me in! That lists shuns a lot of people. You would think that a political party would want to be inclusive of different ideological factions in order to attain major goals. I have conservative opinions on most issues, I do, really! I would consider myself a Republican if it weren’t for two things: gay rights and religion. Even before the list, the "core" of the Republican Party had framed itself as a party exclusive to heterosexual, Christian, “patriotic” white people. There’s no place in the Republican Party for pro-gay rights Jews – even if they are conservative. It’s a sad truth, people.

Isn’t free market capitalism more important than homophobia, ethnocentrism, and talking about Ronald Reagan?

If the Republican Party wants to win back a majority – I’m talking Reagan-esque sweeping Red victories – they have to abandon the tired theocratic notions of government enforced morality, and focus on the true conservative ideology that the US has thrived on.

Shrinking government, encouraging economic competition, keeping taxes low, constitutionalism, ensuring civil rights and liberties...

Shouldn’t that be what is important to the Republican Party?

I guess not.

I’m begrudgingly sticking with the Donkey for now.