Since we know how much the Republicans love Big Brother these days, and get aroused over governmental spying on citizens, this should probably not be a surprise:

This week the Minnesota Republican Party is distributing a new CD about a proposed state marriage amendment. Along with flashy graphics, the CD asks people their views on controversial issues such as abortion, gun control, illegal immigration, and so on.

The problem – the CD sends your answers back to headquarters, filed by name, address, and political views. No mention of that in the terms of use. No privacy policy at all. The story concludes: “So if you run the CD in your personal computer, by the end of it, the Minnesota GOP will not only know what you think on particular issues, but also who you are.�

Privacy schmivacy! This is the GOP Rootkit, part of their Political Rights Management Program! Your business is Karl Rove's business! Your privacy aids terrorists!

These practices fall way below the standard for today’s polling firms and web sites. The norm for polling firms is to anonymize the data and report only statistical totals. The norm for commercial web sites is to have a privacy policy, with Federal Trade Commission enforcement if the web site breaks its privacy promise.

Without a privacy policy, the state party can tell your views to anyone at all. If you give the “wrong� answers on abortion or other issues, they can tell your boss, members of your church, or anyone else. In fact, these answers could get distributed to campaigns in your town during get-out-the-vote efforts – precisely the place where “wrong� answers can be most damaging.

GOP = Get Over Privacy.

In a comment, SpudgeBoy points out that this is illegal. All I can say is "Since when has that stopped the Republicans?"

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