The Ten Conservative Commandments

Though, apparently, you’re still okay of you violate two of them (I’d very much like to see that, though — if you toed all the other lines but were pro-choice, or pro-marriage equality, would you really still get conservative support?)

The proposed resolution was signed by 10 Republican national committee members and was distributed on Monday morning. They are asking for the resolution to be debated when Republicans gather for their winter meeting. 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.”

The modern (if you’ll pardon the expression) conservative Decalogue:

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

Wow, not even one onto the list, and we go from general principles (unsurprising but universal in modern conservatism) to specific slams (complete with “scare quotes”) on Obama.  Does Bush’s $700bn bail out of the financial industry count here?

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

Obama gets another slam.  Of course, Obama isn’t proposing “government run health care” or even “government insurance” as a sole option.  But, then, “market-based health care reform” isn’t really health care reform, either, so I guess both sides of the equation are even.

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

Interestingly, cap-and-trade has been supported by some conservatives in the past — though now that it’s actually a possibility under a Democratic Administration, it must be forbidden to all right-thinking Right-thinkers.

Note that “market-based energy reform” is about as much like “energy reform” as “market-based health care reform” is like “health care reform.

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

This is one of those really specific ones snuck in amidst the generalities (just as the previous point was).  The whole card check controversy is one of those irksome conflicts that’s driven by bad behavior on one side opening the possibility of bad behavior on the other side.  If conservatives were so emphatic in their “workers’ right to secret ballot” by protecting union organizers trying organize a safe union ballot, this wouldn’t be an issue.

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

A nice general principle, which ignores that illegal immigrants often can’t assimilate because of their illegal status.  That said, at least one can call this a broad position take by most on the conservative side and with some legitimacy to its (simplistic) argument.

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

Again, some very narrow foreign policy actions here — which ignore, for example, Bush’s neglect of Afghanistan while focusing on Iraq.  But, really, is it now the official conservative position that if the military wants more troops, we should just send them over?  Really?

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

Well, I think pretty much everyone wants that — only debating what “effective” means.

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

Yes, dears, we know — you fear Teh Gayz.  Moving on.  (Though this one is framed in a particularly wonkish fashion, with no invocation of God or Family or Civilization … odd.)

(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

If you oppose health care rationing, does that mean that everyone is entitled to all the medical care they need?  Or just all they can pay for?  And are you really opposing denial of health care?  That’s positively socialistic!  I find it interesting, too, that the anti-abortion plank is about government funding, not its legality.

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

Again, we return to general principles — though, presumably, they support some restrictions.  Should private citizens be allowed to purchase fully automatic high caliber weapons?  Bazookas?  Regardless of criminal record?  Or membership in ACORN?  Or religion?   I suspect not everyone in the conservative camp actually supports unlimited firearm ownership — which simply means that they’ve calibrated the right-vs-danger gauge to their own comfort level.  Which makes it a discussion, not a debate about silly moral absolutes. Wouldn’t that be refreshing?

So, looking at the list as a whole … wow.  It sure reads like it was assembled by committee, which some being political attacks against the President, some being very narrow policy stands, others being broad principles, some being highly moralistic, others being kind of wonkish.  I can’t imagine this would stand up to much serious debate when the RNC gets together, which either means it’ll get scrapped or get adopted as-is.

So, of course, the question is — can the GOP really establish a Purity Test of this sort, and actually succeed?  It seems unlikely to me, since it only drives moderates into hypocritical adherence to the Law, or else drives the out of the party.  Neither seems healthy … but, then, dogmatics rarely worry about that.  They worry about the Rules.

(via Joe.My.God)