Picture 2When Gov. Tim Pawlenty told MSNBC audiences early this month that “there’s a range of behavior and issue positions you can take” and still be a Republican, it created a small stir among pundits. One, Ariana Huffington, characterized Pawlenty’s sentiment as a GOP “litmus test.” But according to the New York Times’ Adam Nagourney, it’s more of a “purity” test. This morning Republican leaders circulated a list of ten principles it’ll be debating whether to adopt at its January RNC Winter Meeting. If a candidate breaks from the party on three or more of them, they’ll “be penalized by being denied party funds or the party endorsement.”

Here’s the list:

(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 health care;

(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 and 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.