Politics
Photo by judhudson via Flickr
This morning, the New York Times reported that “Republican leaders are circulating a resolution listing 10 positions Republican candidates should support to demonstrate that they ‘espouse conservative principles and public policies’ that are in opposition to ‘Obama’s socialist agenda.’” What’s more, reported Adam Nagourney, anyone found to be in disagreement with anymore than two of these principles “would be penalized by being denied party funds or the party endorsement.”
Now why, exactly, would any self-respecting intransigent apparatchik want to be associated with a colleague who could pass their purity test by a margin of only 80 percent?
‘Cause Ronald Reagan said so, of course.
Quoth Nagourney: “The resolution invokes Ronald Reagan, and noted that Mr. Reagan had said the Republican Party should be devoted to conservative principles but also be open to diverse views. President Reagan believed, the resolution notes, ‘that someone who agreed with him 8 out of 10 times was his friend, not his opponent.’” In other words, these principles are the Ten Commandments according to the Gipper — except that, in these tough times, eight, apparently, is enough.
So here you go, young conservatives (again, courtesy of Nagourney and the Times). Remember, you can only ignore two:
(1) We support smaller government, smaller national debt, lower deficits and lower taxes by opposing bills like Obama’s “stimulus” bill;
(2) We support market-based health care reform and oppose Obama-style government run health care;
(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.
None of the items on the list is surprising in itself, but the intent here did catch us more than a little off guard. After all, Chairman Mao sent his red guards against any citizen deemed to have suspect or wavering beliefs. Josef Stalin engaged in regular violent purgings designed to purify the so-deigned disbelieving sections of his communist party. More recently, the government of the Islamic Republic of Iran has engaged in a wave of purifying executions, which, when viewed in context with this past summer’s civil unrest, can be seen as a sort of come-to-god-moment for any stray opposition members. The Saudis still execute homosexuals in what looks like an attempt to keep the race pure; in ancient Israel, the punishment for improper speech was isolation, etc., etc.
So, looked at historically, this brand-new G.O.P. purity effort could be seen as nothing out of the ordinary for a strong central power looking to consolidate its interests — but that’s something that should be completely anathema to any true Republican.
Of course the real issue for Republicans may just be who to worship. There may not be any specific mention on the purity list about the need to be Christian, but everybody knows you’ve got to be one to get anywhere in the party. But, at the same time, you also have to be a devout Reaganist. The G.O.P. has become the servant of two masters, the follower of two different sets of 10 commandments. You don’t just have to say you support the Reagan approach to Republican policy, you have to believe in the man himself.
After all, his off-the-cuff comments are now being sanctified and hammered into stone tablets, just like hundreds of religious figures before him; his aside hath become dogma. But it’s a wishy-washy kind of dogma, one that goes easy on sinners and fallen acolytes. What can one say about an ideology that allows even its would-be apostles to subvert its ideology 20% of the time?
And that begs the question: Why have a purity test at all? Why not just let anyone in? Sure, Jesus said, “blessed are the meek” and “blessed are the poor,” but didn’t he also say that “the meek aren’t necessarily blessed given such circumstances that the legitimacy of one’s meekness has been called into question and public opinion finds that peacemakers and the pure at heart are more in favor currently and should therefore be granted easier access to blessedness, vis a vis those who hunger and thirst after righteousness or are weeping, who, it has been decided by this committee, are no longer eligible to receive blessings”?
4000 years ago, Moses came down from Sinai with 10 Commandments, and now the Republicans have come up with 10 of their own. Only difference is, Moses expected you to follow all of his, whereas the GOP is fine with 80%.
Maybe it’s time for a new spin on the old spiritual: “If it’s good enough for Reagan, then it’s good enough for me.”
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