Weighing in for the first time on the much-publicized resolution for a GOP "Purity Test" being proposed by RNC committeeman Jim Bopp, party chairman Michael Steele said today that, "as a rule," litmus tests are not a good idea.

"I don't think that that is an appropriate approach for us to take down the road," he said in an interview with the Baltimore Sun. He even said that the proposed resolution may not even get voted on.

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He described the resolution, which surfaced last week, as "just a discussion among the members" of the Republican National Committee "that has now trickled out into the public."

Steele said it was "premature" to predict how he would deal with the measure, which is designed to be voted upon by the RNC at its winter meeting in Hawaii next month.

"Once I see what they're finally proposing, then I will weigh in on it," said Steele. He said that his staff at party headquarters in Washington is working with the resolution's sponsors, who include Jim Bopp, a Republican committeeman from Indiana.

Steele suggested that, ultimately, the measure might not even come to a vote.

When word first came of this resolution, the merits of such a test were immediately debated. Several of the party's top candidates in 2010 races, like Delaware Senate candidate Mike Castle, might not meet the sufficient number of requirements in the 10-point resolution to receive party funding. Steele certainly sounds eager to put this issue to rest.

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