The Collin County Observer

GOP hopefuls get litmus test in Tarrant, Collin, Denton counties

Saturday, December 12, 2009
By GROMER JEFFERS JR. / The Dallas Morning News

Republicans filing to run in the March primaries in several local counties are being asked to take a party-platform purity quiz.

Republican parties in Tarrant, Collin and Denton counties are supplying the 10-question form, with items taken from the Texas Republican Party platform. The candidates can either answer the questions as they file or return the forms to the local party.

And while the test is optional, the answers are kept by party leaders, who say they will probably make them available to voters.

"It becomes a good way for us to know are these people who are really Republicans philosophically, or are these Republicans opportunistically?" said Denton County Republican Party Chairwoman Diane Edmondson. "It's a good way for us to make sure we are returning our party to our core principles."

Dallas County GOP Chairman Jonathan Neerman is not making the survey available to candidates, saying it's unnecessary.

"In my mind, the voters are the best judge of character for candidates. They will be the ones to do that in the primary," Neerman said.

The statements are fairly broad, covering topics such as human life, marriage and family, and the size of government, and candidates can indicate that they agree or disagree and add comments if they choose. Statewide candidates are also asked to take the test, officials said.

Bryan Preston, spokesman for the state Republican Party, said that when candidates file for office at state headquarters in Austin, they are given a packet of information that includes the questionnaire. He said candidates can fill it out and mail it back to the party, but as of midweek, none had been received. But the filing period at the time had been open for less than a week.

"It's voluntary homework," Preston said. "When a candidate files, they get a survey. If they want to do it, they do it."

As of Friday, neither incumbent Rick Perry nor Sen. Kay Bailey Hutchison, rivals in the race for governor, had received or turned in the questionnaire. Perhaps because of the hoopla surrounding their visit to the party to file candidacies, they didn't immediately get the tests.

Democrats have no similar document.

"It's another example on how the Republican Party has moved from being the right wing to the off-the-edge-nutty right wing," said Democratic strategist Matt Angle. "Crazy has become mainstream in the Republican Party."

Rebuilding process

The surveys come at a time when Republicans, both nationally and locally, are trying to rebuild the party and shake off recent electoral losses, including last year when Barack Obama paced the national and local tickets.

At the last Texas Republican Party convention, activists sought to require candidates to take such quizzes. The result was a watered-down rule that allowed for a 10-question document called Republican Platform Principles to be given to state and local candidates.

Some Republicans, like Edmondson, believe that making sure candidates are on board with the party's core values is important to ensuring good government and building trust with conservative voters.

She says it also guards against nonconservatives infiltrating the party. Denton County is a solid Republican area, and candidates under the Democratic banner rarely win elections.

"I have on occasion let Republicans know that a Democrat was running on the Republican ticket," she said. "If we find there are certain issues with which a candidate disagrees, then the party can make that known and it will be up to the voters to decide where they want to go with that."

Collin County Party Chairman Fred Moses said he would probably store the tests and make them available to voters.

"If any voter wants to see them, they can," Moses said.

read the rest of the article at The Dallas Morning News....