"A Small GOP" (op-ed, Jan. 26) is correct that James Bopp and others are wrong to have a litmus test that includes "10 conservative principles." The problem is that most of the items on his list are not principles. A troop surge is not a principle, and neither is cap and trade, nor most of the others. These are policy differences. The kind of government a political party stands for is a principle.
If you stand for the principle that a large central government is a tool that will solve your problems, such as health care, poverty, racism, etc., and that will result in an egalitarian society, then you are a liberal. If you stand for the principle of a limited central government that will result in lower taxes, individual responsibility and a meritocratic society, then you are a conservative. Policy issues like abortion, gay rights and the environment have nothing to do with these principles.
It seems to me that it is proper to have a litmus test for the Republican Party, but it should be narrowed to the one conservative principle, and by focusing on this one principle, the Republican Party will allow a "big tent" of broad diverse policy differences.
Robert S. Sargent, Jr.
Brevard, N.C.
As long as candidates subscribe to the principles of low taxes, low spending and minimizing government intrusion into our lives and the economy, they can claim the label of "independent Republican." That separates them from the Washington establishment and party bosses, and that separation is exactly what voters are looking for in a candidate. The GOP leadership should encourage such candidates right now.
Terry M. Bourne
Aromas, Calif.
Keith Burgess-Jackson, J.D., Ph.D. 