The Virginia Republican Party is serving voters that precious combination of desperation and authoritarian impulse for which the national GOP is becoming known:

The Republican Party of Virginia wants voters in the Feb. 12 GOP presidential primary to sign a pledge that they will support the party’s nominee.

The state Board of Elections approved the request yesterday.

Those who wish to cast a ballot in the Republican presidential primary will have to sign a statement that says, “I, the undersigned, pledge that I intend to support the nominee of the Republican Party for president.”

Here’s another plan: the week before the election, we kidnap every child in the state, and tell voters that unless the Republicans win, they don’t get their kids back!

— Paul Waldman

Paul Waldman is a weekly columnist and senior writer for The American Prospect. He also writes for the Plum Line blog at The Washington Post and The Week and is the author of Being Right Is Not Enough: What Progressives Must Learn From Conservative Success. Follow @paulwaldman1