GOP Ditches Purity Test for Candidates

Republicans meeting in Honolulu yesterday dropped a requirement that candidates score at least 8 on a 10-point policy test in order to get party support and funding. The test was withdrawn after it was clear it lacked enough support to pass at the Republican National Committee's annual meeting, where one member told Politico the idea was "nuts." Instead, the group approved a rule that merely “urges” party leaders to support nominees who back the platform.

The demise of the purity test infuriated conservatives at the meeting, who feel the GOP has suffered by backing candidates who are too moderate. Their trump card was Dede Scozzafava, the New York congressional candidate endorsed by the GOP who was defeated by a Democrat when a conservative third-party candidate jumped into the race.
(More Dede Scozzafava stories.)