Word: litmus
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...said, "would be grateful to the Vice President of the U.S." for his presence, though she carefully refrained from specifying which Vice President. The evening, with all its tiptoeing over sensitive ground, brought a sparkle of amusement to the eyes of Democratic National Chairman Paul Kirk. "The right-wing litmus tests are already coming fast and furious," he said, "pushing Republicans even farther to the radical right." That, no doubt, would have brought a sparkle to Loeb's eyes...
While the National Party retains an absolute majority in the House of Assembly, President Botha had portrayed last week's vote as a litmus test for his government's reforms, which have included repeal of the laws against sex and marriage among the races and proposals to allow blacks to own houses in urban areas. Some white backlash was to be expected given the continuing violence in the black townships and South Africa's severe unemployment and recession. In a speech last week to the Foreign Correspondents Association, Botha blamed foreign persecution for intensifying his country's troubles. "The more...
...hustings. Not until Congress feels more pressure from voters to close loopholes than it does from special interests to create them will tax reform succeed. By throwing his immense prestige behind the cause, Reagan may have elevated tax reform from the empty promise of party platforms to a true litmus test for congressional candidates. Conceivably, both parties could even find themselves competing for the high ground of reform, engaging in a refreshing contest over which is better able to resist the special-interest pressures that created all the loopholes and complexities in the first place...
...outcry from others was sharp. Said Senator Howard Metzenbaum, an Ohio Democrat: "With some U.S. Senators, being a conservative is not enough. You must come up to their standard of being an extreme right-wing ideologue." Added Senator Joseph Biden Jr., a Delaware Democrat: "The notion of an ideological litmus test is repugnant." Even Judiciary Committee Chairman Strom Thurmond, a conservative Republican, found the letter unacceptable. He announced that henceforth all members must confine their questioning of nominees to confirmation hearings...
...papal teaching." Father Charles Curran of the Catholic University of America doubts that the ban is based on good reasoning, concluding that "faith and reason cannot contradict one another." Curran and McCormick think that the Pope may crack down on dissident priests and make the birth control issue a litmus test in appointments of bishops and seminary professors...