RNC "Purity" Resolution Is A Mere Formality

The Republican Litmus Test

Earlier today it was reported that the conservative members of the Republican National Committee are planning on introducing a resolution aimed at purifying the Republican Party.

In sum, the resolution lists ten must-have policy positions for Republican candidates.  If a candidate disagrees with GOP doctrine on three or more of ten issues, he or she "shall not be eligible for financial support and endorsement by the Republican National Committee."

In reality, this new resolution is merely a formality codifying what, in practice, is already the GOP's policy.  Earlier this month, RNC chair Michael Steele said effectively the same thing:

Candidates who live in moderate to slightly liberal districts have got to walk a little bit carefully here, because you do not want to put yourself in a position where you're crossing that line on conservative principles, fiscal principles, because we'll come after you... You're gonna find yourself in a very tough hole if you're arguing for the president's stimulus plan or Nancy Pelosi's health plan. There's no justification for growing the size of government the way this administration and this Congress wants to do it.

It should be noted that the resolution's chief sponsor is James Bopp, the same Indiana Republican who attempted to rename the Democratic Party the "Democrat Socialist Party." 

Yet before the GOP further alienates moderates, it should consider the consequences.  As Steve Benen wrote:

It occurs to me, looking over the list, that George W. Bush would have been deemed ineligible for support from the Republican National Committee. He did, after all, increase the size of government, run enormous deficits, endorsed cap and trade, allowed North Korea and Iran to become more serious security threats, and rejected the right's line on immigration.

For that matter, I'm not sure if Ronald Reagan would have gotten RNC support, either. Reagan, you'll recall, voted for several tax increases, began the modern era of massive federal debt, ran huge deficits, and approved an immigration measure the far-right still resents.

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Reader S.T. also reminds that Reagan would have failed the RNC Purity Test after withdrawing Marines from Lebanon in 1983 in the wake of the barracks bombing.

It's well known that today's Republican Party is much more conservative than in years past.  But it's very telling that today's GOP is considering banning members who hold the same views as Ronald Reagan.

I wonder what Sarah Palin would have to say about that.