In the preface to his landmark 1755 dictionary, Samuel Johnson wrote that he found “our speech copious without order, and energetic without rules,” while “adulterations were to be detected without a settled test of purity.” As a fixed phrase, purity test started showing up in the scientific literature a century later. Historically, many subjects could be tested for purity-even language itself. But a purity test suggests an even more stringent scrutiny to weed out any ideological impurities. The notion of a purity test by which candidates are measured is similar to another political metaphor drawn from chemical analysis: the litmus test. Because, you know what, the country is complicated.” “Which is why I am always suspicious of purity tests during elections. “We will not win just by increasing the turnout of the people who already agree with us completely on everything,” Obama said. In calling out the hypocrisy and divisiveness of “purity tests,” Buttigieg was echoing a sentiment recently raised by former President Barack Obama, when he assessed the Democratic-primary field at a question-and-answer session with party donors a day after the last debate.
STATE PURITY TEST FULL
Why would the Democratic Party want fewer leaders like Gov.At last night’s Democratic presidential debate, the most memorable words spoken were no doubt “wine cave.” In a clash over big-dollar donors, Elizabeth Warren laid into Pete Buttigieg for a recent Silicon Valley fundraising event that she described as being “held in a wine cave, full of crystals and served $900-a-bottle wine.” Warren added, “Billionaires in wine caves should not pick the next president of the United States.”īuttigieg was ready with his response, relying on a different two-word phrase: “purity tests.” After pointing out that he was “the only person on this stage who is not a millionaire or a billionaire,” he shot back at Warren: “This is the problem with issuing purity tests you cannot yourself pass.” Noting that Warren, too, has previously engaged in the same kind of big-ticket fundraising, Buttigieg concluded that “these purity tests shrink the stakes of the most important election.” It will contribute to a growing rift between the roughly two-thirds of states that are broadly pro-life and the remaining states which aren’t simply permissive of practices that most Americans view as extreme, but are increasingly moving to enshrine as a publicly-funded right. The imposition of this state-level purity tests for Democrats ensures that the national party will become less representative of American attitudes in many states. And he did so by defying what is now the litmus test of another official organ of his party. Edwards won a tough race, exceeding expectations and clearly illustrating how a Democrat can win in a challenging atmosphere. He won on the strength of his abortion position.Įdwards was running against a well-funded, if somewhat uninspiring, Republican challenger. What makes Edwards different from the sea of losing Democratic nominees in a myriad of red states? It doesn’t take a political scientist to figure it out.
But it wasn’t the Democratic Party that ultimately secured Edwards’ reelection. In a time of increasing state polarization, it should have been a huge victory for the Democrats to retain the governor’s mansion in ruby-red Louisiana. …Ĭonsider this state-level purity test in light of Louisiana Gov. That is what national Democrats are doing by supporting only abortion absolutists in pro-life states - they are deciding not to compete.
So, considering the Democrats’ weak bench for plausible candidates in red states, the decision not to compete for attorney general is significant. While state AGs may not seem incredibly relevant, they are an important stepping stone toward governors’ mansions in many states. It announced it will not endorse or assist any candidates who do not support unfettered abortion access. The Democratic Attorneys General Association is leading the charge to excise all abortion moderates from the good graces of the party. Maybe Democrats have taken the president too literally. President Donald Trump likes to say he’s going to win so much, you’ll get tired of winning. Noah Brandt writes on the decision of the Democratic Attorneys General Association to make abortion on demand a litmus test for any future endorsements:
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