Ja Wohl!

Just in case anyone thinks that GT12 engages in hyperbole when referring to the authoritarianism at the heart of the Republican party....

Remember The Nazi Party? Remember the Communist Party? They don't in Virginia. Or do they?

Polical Wire Reports:

Virginia GOP Will Make Voters Sign Oath

Voters planning to vote in Virginia's Republican presidential primary will be required to sign an oath swearing their Republican loyalty, the AP reports."The State Board of Elections on Monday approved a state Republican Party request to require all who apply for a GOP primary ballot first vow in writing that they'll vote for the party's presidential nominee next fall... Virginia doesn't require voters to register by party, and for years the state's Republicans have fretted that Democrats might meddle in their open primaries."

Caveat: "There's no practical way to enforce the oath."

Salon's take:

So you live in Virginia and want to vote in the state's Republican presidential primary? That's fine -- so long as you first sign an oath swearing that you'll vote for the GOP presidential nominee come next November.

The oath is completely unenforceable, but it can't sit well with Virginia Republicans who might entertain the idea of voting for a Democratic or third-party candidate in 2008 if the nominee the GOP picks isn't to their liking.

As the Roanoke Times opines, the oath leaves such voters with a touch choice to make: "lie," "stay home from the Feb. 12 elections and keep your options open," or "commit to an unknown Republican candidate nine months before the election."

"Honorable Virginians do not give their word lightly and will not lie, even under these obtuse circumstances," the Times says. "We hope, too, that they put candidates' ideas, character and experience ahead of party affiliation. Honest, responsible voters therefore can only skip the primary."

That, or vote with the party that doesn't require such an oath in the first place.