The Republican Checklist

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Last week the Republican National Committee released a new checklist designed to expose some of the moderates in their party.

According to Indiana Republican National Committeeman Jim Bopp, who was the leading force in sculpting the “checklist” proposal; from now on, the RNC pledges that it will only back candidates who meet at least 8 out of these 10 requirements:

(1) We support smaller government, smaller national debt, lower deficits and lower taxes by opposing bills like President Obama's stimulus bill;

(2) We support market-based health care reform and oppose Obama-style government run healthcare;

(3) We support market-based energy reforms by opposing cap and trade legislation;

(4) We support workers' right to secret ballot by opposing card check;

(5) We support legal immigration and assimilation into American society by opposing amnesty for illegal immigrants;

(6) We support victory in Iraq and Afghanistan by supporting military-recommended troop surges

(7) We support containment of Iran and North Korea, particularly effective action to eliminate their nuclear weapons threat;

(8) We support retention of the Defense of Marriage Act;

(9) We support protecting the lives of vulnerable persons by opposing health care rationing and denial of health care and government funding of abortion; and

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

Bopp said of the checklist:

“We can’t demand 100% agreement on the issues and we should welcome divergent views,” he said, “But a in accepting diversity, a party must stand for principle. I liked what Ronald Reagan said [at the Conservative Political Action Conference in 1977] that a party must raise ‘a banner of bold colors and no pale pastels.’ We do this with a platform but we do nothing to hold anyone accountable. So the RNC gives money to [Pennsylvania Sen.] Arlen Specter in his ’04 primary battle and to [former Rhode Island Sen. Lincoln] Chafee in his primary battle in ’06 and they both later switched parties. Now the RNC has given $250,000 to Scozzafava, who is a party switcher-in-waiting. People like being loosey-goosy, and they hate being held accountable. But accountability is what we need.”