Jeremiah on America

Take this simple quiz.  If you agree with eight (8) or more of the following statements, then you qualify as a righteous Republican.

1. I want smaller government, smaller national debt, and lower taxes.
2. I want market-based health care reform, not a government program.
3. I want market-based energy reforms, not the “cap and trade” tax.
4. I want workers to unionize only by secret ballot.
5. I oppose amnesty for illegal immigrants.
6. I support the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan.
7. I want strong action against nuclear weapons in Iran and North Korea.
8. I oppose gay marriage.
9. I oppose abortion.
10. I support the right to bear arms.

As silly as the “purity pledge” sounds, these are exactly the issues the Republican Party needs to answer.  Following the Scozzafava debacle, the party must decide if abortion and gay rights are really its defining issues.

The Republicans should romp in 2010, given the other side’s dismal performance on economic and defence issues – but not if the GOP remains shackled to the religious right.  The Democrats will not miss an opportunity to paint them as the party of bible-thumping rednecks.

A Republican candidate might be electable with seven of these items, maximum – and only in conjunction with a positive message and some constructive proposals.  When they named the pledge after Ronald Reagan, it seems they forgot the part about getting elected.

See also:  A GOP Purity Test?