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November 27, 2009
Pied pipers of the GOP
It'sreminiscent of the bad old days of the House Un-American Activities
Committee, the John Birch Society and the blacklist of the 1950's.
Now the Republican Party will require potential 2010 candidates to
fill out an "ideological purity" form, in which they must correctly
score on at least eight out of ten answers on topics such as abortion,
gay marriage and taxes, if they are to qualify for national party
campaign funds.
Of course, the party has a right to do this--but is it politically
sound reasoning? As the GOP circles the wagons more and more tightly
around its conservative core, it may develop into an effective force
for anointing candidates to win primaries, but in the general election,
it will be relinquishing the vast swath of moderate turf--turf most
Americans feel comfortable occupying--to the Democrats.
In recent times, the Democratic Party has been more of a "big tent,"
embracing members from across the idealogical spectrum, including
moderate conservatives who, fifty years ago, would have fallen into the
"Rockefeller Republican" camp.
Since retaining or augmenting majorities in both houses of Congress
is the name of the game, one has to wonder if the GOP has some kind of
death wish. Maybe it simply has no credible leaders at the moment,
except for the bloviators who make a living by being extremist.