James Bopp, Jr., the vice chairman of the Republican National Committee, has circulated a draft proposal of a ten point platform for the RNC to adopt in its January meeting. The resolution would require that candidates to support at least eight of the ten points before receiving RNC funding, which has prompted some media outlets to label it a “purity test.”

I don’t see the big deal about the resolution. All parties adopt a platform. They exist to advance an agenda, and they have to define an agenda and agree to it before they can advance it. Besides, it’s mostly Democrat strategists telling the Republicans that they need to have a “big tent” and that they must moderate (i.e. adopt Democrat talking points) or get permanently relegated to minority status. If that were really the case, why wouldn’t the Democrats welcome a GOP purity test?

Anyway, the 10 points are:

1. We support smaller government, smaller national debt, lower deficits and lower taxes by opposing bills like Obama’s “stimulus” bill;
2. We support market-based health care reform and oppose Obama-style government run healthcare;
3. We support market-based energy reforms by opposing cap and trade legislation;
4. We support workers’ right to secret ballot by opposing card check;
5. We support legal immigration and assimilation into American society by opposing amnesty for illegal immigrants;
6. We support victory in Iraq and Afghanistan by supporting military-recommended troop surges;
7. We support containment of Iran and North Korea, particularly effective action to eliminate their nuclear weapons threat;
8. We support retention of the Defense of Marriage Act;
9. We support protecting the lives of vulnerable persons by opposing health care rationing, denial of health care and government funding of abortion; and
10. We support the right to keep and bear arms by opposing government restrictions on gun ownership.

I wonder how many Republicans already disagree with three or more of these positions? They are defined broadly and simply stated. For instance, what does “victory” in Iraq and Afghanistan mean? Does it mean building functioning democratic states, or does it mean preventing al Qaeda from using the countries as operating bases? As AllahPundit notes at Hot Air, only points five and eight are seriously contested within the party.

Moreover, the list is not inspiring in any way. As much as it positively defines what the party should stand for, the list seems composed as a response to the current Democrat agenda. Republicans will not return to power unless they can get Obama out of their minds. The party needs candidates in 2010 and 2012 that can clearly articulate conservative thought. Simply stating positions won’t get the job done; they need someone who can put together an argument, educate the public, and explain why the party has its platform.

Nonetheless, here’s what I’d propose as the party platform that articulates those first principles that should motivate the next elections:

1. We respect human individual freedom and the ability of the individual to dispose of his reason with respect for the law.
2. We support abliity of individuals to acquire personal property through labor and the ability of individuals to freely exchange their property in markets.
3. Given that monopolies discourage opportunity and choice, we support limited regulation that keeps markets free, open, and competitive.
4. All Americans are equal before the law. However, individual Americans have a diverse array of talents, which are not all distributed equally. Our republic should allow individuals to use their talents to the best of their abilities.
5. No two American cities or states are alike. Where possible, local solutions at the city, county, and state level will provide better outcomes than a uniform solution imposed from the federal government.
6. We support public discourse that welcomes religious dialogue, but recognizes that Americans have many beliefs.
7. We support a national defense that protects the life and limb of every American and protects our international commercial interests.
8. We support government policies that recognize human nature as it is. We oppose government attempts to change human nature through social engeneering. People are not pawns in a social science experiment; they are not objects under the control of some social planner.
9. We support incremental reform of our political system — reform that preserves what is good and seeks to improve what can be improved. We oppose any attempt to completely remake our society in an untested and unseen manner. Reforms should fall in line with our Constitution and the intents of our Founders.