Those who accuse progressives of calling for "purity tests" want this party to stand for nothing.

[Zynx]

48. I argue that it's more important that they support most progressive policy positions rather than all

We could probably sit down and quantify this if we wanted to be eminently reasonable about it. I don't think that there are too many single issues that disqualify one as a progressive within the general spectrum of center-left policies. For example, I think you can be in favor of a $9/hr minimum wage and still be a progressive because of any number of other policy positions.

Now, if a candidate holds *no* progressive policy positions of any kind, then yes I have a problem with that. However, it's insane to say that you have to bat 100% on policy positions for you to be a proper Democrat. That's absolute madness and is also the path to permanent minority party status.

In general, I'm willing to consider anyone who holds this broad policy framework to be a proper Democrat:

1. Equality under the law based on race, gender, sexual orientation, religion, etc.
2. Progressivity in taxation with an eye toward reducing inequality
3. Favoring protecting the environment
4. Favoring rehabilitation over retribution in the criminal justice system
5. Favoring greater investments in education, health care, and infrastructure over tax cuts

So long as someone is roughly in that frame of mind, I'll vote for them.