GOP Purity Test

[Vampyr]

Good old defense of marriage act - what would we do without you?

[Dylflon]

The republican party is a well oiled machine whose key strength lies in forcing most members to low the party line.

This is damaging to the democratic process.

[TheGame]

How Ronald Reagan stood on these issues:

Let's see:

(1) Deficit spending soared during Reagan's presidency.Strike one.

(2) As governor of California, Reagan oversaw the development of Medi-Cal, the nation's largest Medicaid program – expanding it to cover long-term care and developed massive new managed care systems. Strike two.

(3) As governor of California, Reagan Reagan established the Air Resources Board to battle California's smog problems and supported aggressive government intervention where the market had failed to protect the environment. As president, Reagan signed more wilderness protections laws – which restrict private-sector exploitation of natural resources – than any president in history. Strike three.

(4) Reagan was a former union president who campaigned against the Taft-Hartley Act and other restrictions of the right of unions to organize. Strike four.

(5) Reagan signed the Immigration Reform and Control Act of 1986, which granted amnesty to most undocumented workers who could prove they had been in the country continuously for the previous five years. After he finished his presidency, Reagan continues to speak out forcefully for immigration rights. Strike five.

(6) After the 1983 bombing of a Marine barracks in Beirut, Reagan was urged by some to surge more troops into the region. Instead, he ordered the Marines to begin withdrawal from Lebanon. Strike six.

(7) Reagan acknowledged that during his presidency the U.S.sold weapons to Iran. Strike seven.

(8) Reagan was the first president to invite an openly gay couple to spend the night in the White House and he famously argued that gays and lesbians should not be discriminated against in a 1978 television advertising campaign. Strike eight.

(9) Shortly after his inauguration as governor of California, Reagan signed into law the most liberal abortion statute of its day". Strike nine.

(10) Here's Reagan, in 1991, on gun control: "I support the Brady Bill, and I urge the Congress to enact it without further delay." Strike ten.

Shows how far the party has come. Though I think if Ronald Reagan was asked to support or go against those 10 items, I'm sure he would probably sign onto at least half of them, its just that the party in general is hipocritical.

[Professor S]

If this thread is about the 10 question test I heard about, then I agree it's ridiculous. It drives me nuts when republicans try and weed out the "RINOS". Hell, Reagan not only supported moderates, but he reached out the Democrats to get support for his plans. That's how you win elections and make policy happen.

It doesn't matter how "pure" you are if you can't win elections! That Conservative candidate in New York getting a large amount of votes wasn't a victory. He lost! How many votes does a loser get you? NONE.

Right now the US has never been more politically divided and alienated, and that's a opportunity for Republicans to bring more people into the fold. Instead, it looks like they're trying to weed people out. Next time I renew my license I've going back to being an independent. I live in PA so my primary votes are irrelevant in most cases anyway.

Morons. If they lose in 2010 and 2012 it'll their own damn fault.

[TheGame]

Originally Posted by Professor S

Right now the US has never been more politically divided and alienated, and that's a opportunity for Republicans to bring more people into the fold.

I think the division is a lot of their own doing. From their failed leadership creating the situation we're in now, down to their failed politics causing the party to become unpopular. IMO the Republican party has moved too far to the right, and they opened the door more for there to be moderate democrats.

Its good in a way that they're all on the same page, so they make policy happen with no civil wars like the dems.. but I think they're signing onto one too many unpopular views.

The name of the game in politics, is adjusting to what the majority of people want (Or at least being somewhat sympathetic with that view). If you don't do that, you start losing districts you've held for over 100 years.