'Purity test' worries some in GOP

WASHINGTON, Dec. 1 (UPI) -- A proposal to impose an ideological "purity test" on Republican Party candidates is splitting the GOP, members say.

A conservative proposal before the Republican National Committee calls for barring of party financial support for candidates who can't meet eight of 10 tests on fiscal and social issues, and establishment GOP leaders say they're worried the measure will drive away moderates needed to win upcoming mid-term elections, the Washington publication Politico reported Tuesday.

"We're becoming a church that would rather chase away heretics than welcome converts and that's no way to become a majority party," moderate former U.S. Rep. Tom Davis, R-Va., told the publication. "This makes no sense for those of us who are interested in winning elections."

Meanwhile, more conservative Republicans are also voicing doubts about the "Resolution on Reagan's Unity Principle for Support of Candidates," Politico said.

Sen. John Kyl, R-Ariz., said "no" when asked if he thought it was good idea, adding, "I think it's best for both the Democrat Party and the Republican Party to be big tents to accommodate a lot of different viewpoints."