SC county Republican leaders say they want potential GOP candidates to sign "purity" pledge

As if the GOP's bizarre and slippery slide into religious intolerance couldn't get any more slippery, South Carolina county Republican leaders decided to push the envelope and try to force potential GOP contenders for office to sign a purity pledge.  The State newspaper of Columbia, SC broke the story:

A resolution by the Laurens County Republican Party is raising eyebrows — and questions — about what it means to be a Republican in South Carolina.

At issue is a “purity” pledge – quickly rejected as illegal by the state GOP – that the Upstate county’s party approved Feb. 28, requiring those who file to run in the June 12 Republican primary to promise they did not have premarital sex, will be faithful to their spouses and will not watch porn while also fighting to protect gun rights.

The 28-point pledge also requires candidates to:

• Oppose abortion, in any circumstances

• Endorse the ideas of balanced state and federal budgets

• Hold a high regard for U.S. sovereignty and be committed to peace through “strength in foreign policy”

• Not favor any government action to allow civil unions by same-sex couples

“The purpose of the resolution was to try to ensure that candidates who wish to file to run on the ticket simply support the party’s platform,” said Bobby Smith, chairman of the Laurens County Republican Party, adding the county party also hopes to interview potential candidates. “Our party has had much success over the past few years, and we want to make sure they uphold the party’s principles if running on the party’s ticket.”

Not only is this a purity pledge, but treads very closely on the line of being a loyalty pledge to the Republican party.     The state Republicans agreed:

State Republican leaders say the pledge is illegal and cannot be enforced.

“The state party does not endorse this action, and no county party can legally keep a qualified candidate off the ballot,” said Matt Moore, executive director of the S.C. Republican Party, referring to state regulations that require only that candidates meet age requirements, not be convicted felons and live within the area they seek to represent. “It’s against state law to add anything on to that.”

Beyond the legality issue, Moore said the resolution doesn’t jive with the state party’s goals.

“These kind of purity tests are at odds with our long-term strategy of being a dominant party,” Moore said. “We’ve got to be for limited government, less taxes. That’s what our platform is about.”

Dakota O'Leary

Dakota O'Leary is a freethinker, and often sassy, scholar of theology and literature. She got her Bachelor of Arts degree in English and Theology from the State University of New York College at Buffalo, and her Master of Arts degree in Theology and Literature from Antioch University-Midwest. She is a contributing writer focusing on eschatology, biblical prophecy, and general religious news. Dakota is a co-host of the God Discussion radio show, offering insight to the news stories of the week. We like to call her "our in-house Biblical prophecy expert" as her articles on eschatology have received over 200,000 views on God Discussion.

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