You remember Ken Blackwell, don’t you? He’s the guy who in 2004 served simultaneously as Ohio Secretary of State and co-chair of the Committee to Re-Elect George W. Bush. He used, and abused, his office to help the Bush campaign – including rejecting voter registration forms that weren’t on 80-pound paper stock.

Anyway, he must have been prepping for CPAC when he wrote his latest op-ed on FoxNews.com. Here’s what he said about the Obama administration:

What we are witnessing right now is an anti-Christian programmatic pogrom. What is a “pogrom” it’s the word that describes anti-Jewish raids by Cossacks and others in czarist Russia, but a programmatic pogrom best describes what is happening right now. These are not isolated attacks. And while we no longer have Cossacks to threaten, we now have left-wing bloggers who actually call themselves Kossacks (after the Daily Kos).

A “pogrom,” let’s recall, is “an organized massacre of helpless people; specifically: such a massacre of Jews.” And Blackwell, who most recently served as the vice chair of the RNC Platform Committee, contends that President Obama’s nominees would be leaders of this “pogrom” if confirmed.

He said this about Dawn Johnsen, who was nominated a year ago to lead the Office of Legal Counsel: “If she is confirmed, we will see a radical anti-Catholic, pro-abortion zealot influencing policy throughout the Justice Department—but also policy throughout the entire federal government.”

Johnsen, as it happens, is Christian and teaches Sunday School. She has prominent Republican supporters and a sterling record of commitment to the rule of law. But Blackwell thinks her confirmation is on par with the mass slaughter of Jews.

But he didn’t stop there. He also singled out Chai Feldblum, Obama’s pick to lead the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, saying that “if confirmed, she would be in position to pursue the pogrom nationwide.” As Ben Smith pointed out, Feldblum is a “Jewish law professor and disability rights scholar… whose father survived the Holocaust in the forests of Poland after losing most of his family.”

Feldblum is also a widely acclaimed academic and vigorous advocate for religious freedom. But that doesn’t matter to Blackwell, who isn’t really big on rational argument. As Rabbi David Saperstein wrote today, “Blackwell’s use of rhetoric invoking the pogroms, the widespread destruction of countless Jewish lives in Eastern Europe, is aimed at quashing reasoned political discourse,” and it “desecrates the memory of those who died in the pogroms.”

One thing is clear, Blackwell isn't trying to convince people – he’s trying to incite them. So will the RNC and Republican leaders denounce the remarks or just pretend not to notice? I think we all know the answer.

I don't like some of this ACORN stuff either, but it's small potatoes compared to what Republicans have been doing for decades and to try and link it to Obama is nuts. Registering and voting are two different things. Republicans use the Ken Blackwell method of purging the voting rolls every chance they get. Sometimes they can count on the Supreme Court to do their bidding. Case in point The Indiana Voter ID law....You can hear my Rachel Maddow interview on it here. And what I find really insulting is the idea that Ken Blackwell himself is actually trying to make a case involving Voter fraud. Now that is laughable..

And yes, in case you were curious, that's the same Ken Blackwell who was Ohio's secretary of state in 2004. The same Ken Blackwell who worked himself into infamy by actually directing his office to reject voter registrations based on the weight of the paper used. And yes, the same Ken Blackwell who was embarrassed in 2006, when he lost the race to be his state's governor by 23 percentage points -- but only after his supporters challenged the eligibility of Blackwell's opponent

Steven Rosenfeld writes: California GOP had Same Voter Registration Problems as ACORN in 2006

Faked names on voter registration forms. Error rates as high as 60 percent. Firing the people responsible for these errors. Investigations launched by local and state police. Sound familiar? This is not ACORN in the 2008 election's final days. This is the California Republican Party and its contractors in 2006, when the same problems that are now dogging ACORN and providing political fodder for GOP attacks plagued an effort by California Republicans to register 750,000 people. The details were all spelled out in a series of Los Angeles Times stories, which quoted former California Democratic Party Chairman Art Torres saying these kinds of errors are inevitable "when you use private vendors." Even the state's top election official in 2006, Republican Bruce McPherson, was forced to investigate his own party's actions...read on

And Editor & Publisher has a great piece about it and asks: why does it seem to be a greater sin to be suspected of voter registration mistakes than to publicly engage in voter suppression efforts?

It's Knuttz: Great images of G-Dub in Brazil showing the orchestrated view...and the real street.

Lawyers, Guns and Money: Treason-in-Defense-of-Slavery Heritage Month

Red State Son: Khalid Sheikh Mohammed confesses to more shocking crimes...

Norbizness: The Left must be stopped...I've gone too far

Opinions You Should Have: Bush pardons Fitgerald!

HOLY CRAP: Looks like Kentucky won't be turning out a lot of scientists...All they want is control of your bodies, your behavior, your thoughts...Muslims and ex-Muslims standing up to radical Islamic violence...OMG! Gospel mimes?...Texas diverted $5 million from sucessful family planning programs to antiabortion crisis pregnancy centers and medical misinformation...Atlantic City Baptist minister succumbs to temptations of the flesh...Students from Jerry Falwell’s Liberty "University" get scuffed up when attempting to match wits with Richard Dawkins...The General writes to Dr.Albert Mohler, president of the Southern Baptist theological Seminary, who obviously didn't get the memo about this...The Family Research Council has hired former Ohio secretary of state, Ken Blackwell

I just got back from voting and we suffered from a "glitch". As I was voting, my ballot started off with governor and then worked down through the list. After voting for all the politicians, up next were the issues. My first issue was State issue 1, an issue dealing with Ohio's Worker Compensation. I was expecting to see this, but knew my vote didn't count on it:

In most elections, ''State Issue 1'' is something highly significant and its outcome closely watched. However, in Ohio today, Issue 1 doesn't count, literally.

That's because the issue, a referendum on changes in Ohio's Workers Compensation law, died in a legal challenge that determined the measure lacked sufficient valid signatures on petitions to put it before the voters. But that ruling didn't come until it was too late to remove Issue 1 from the ballot, both absentee and electronic.

So today, when you go into the voting booth, you will see Issue 1 on your ballot, even though it isn't a valid ballot issue anymore.

So after my voting experience went smoothly, the person I went down with had her turn to cast her ballot. She had the same ballot, the same ballot (iso) card, and the same machine, but her ballot did not appear the same. Instead her ballot started out with a blank blue screen and then went onto the candidates and the state issues, but issue 1 was not on her ballot. She called the poll worker over who said that "this has been happening on some machines". Well our polling place only has three machines and she was on the same machine as I just got done voting on, and this problem did not happen for me.

After we got done we did immediately call the Democrat hotline (1-888-DEM-VOTE) to report the problem. They connected us with a local person, who was very interested in the problem.

The most interesting thing I kept thinking of was Ken Blackwell on CNN this past weekend saying the machines do not have any problems, it was the poll workers. Well this poll worker did everything the same as she did with me (programmed the card for ballot 84), yet our ballots appeared differently. This machine was a Diebold touch screen machine, and as a programmer I can tell you that it is a definite software glitch. The poll worker did the exact same thing she did for me and all the end user variables were the same.

While this might not seem like a major problem, it is a problem all the less. Everyone must be vigilant today and make sure that any glitch, no matter how small it may seem, gets reported. While Ohio Issue 1 has been invalidated in the courts, it was still suppose to be on the ballot. Why was it removed from the ballot (on some machines) after telling people in Ohio that it would still be on the ballot, but your vote just won't count on it? Sounds like another way to add to voter confusion.

On a more positive note, I have voted in this precinct for four years now and this was the busiest I have ever seen it. 10:00 on a rainy Tuesday morning and there was a line in this rural area.

CNN has just reported that about 70 polling places in Indiana did not open this morning. They are saying it was a problem with the machines with the software not being loaded right and right now about half those polling places are open. They are also going to court to get the polling places opened longer. Funny how when you hear people like Ken Blackwell talk, they say there is no problem with the machines - that it is always with the poll workers. Well right next door, we see a problem with the MACHINES!.

I also added a link to the top of each page. That will take you to the Democrats Voting Protection Resource Center. They have all the information you need, and a 1-888-DEM-VOTE phone number if you have any questions or notice/have any problems at the polls.

Today's installment of campaign-related news items that wouldn't generate a post of their own, but may be of interest to political observers:

* Two new Rasmussen polls offer good news for Dems in Pennsylvania. According to the latest numbers, Gov. Ed Rendell (D) now leads retired football player Lynn Swann (R) 50% to 40%. State Treasurer Bob Casey (D), meanwhile, is ahead of incumbent Sen. Rick Santorum (R), 50% to 39%.

* In Ohio's gubernatorial race, Rep. Ted Strickland (D) released federal income tax forms for him and his family yesterday, covering the last five years. Ohio Secretary of State Ken Blackwell (R), however, declined to do the same, becoming the first Ohio Republican gubernatorial candidate in at least 35 years to keep his income tax records secret. Asked to explain Blackwell's decision, a campaign spokesperson said there was "no particular reason" for keeping the records private, "other than it's not required."

* Don't look now, but Nevada's Senate race may be competitive after all. Jack Carter (D) released still-private Rasmussen poll results yesterday, showing Carter trailing incumbent Sen. John Ensign (R) by just seven points, 46% to 39%. A Rasmussen poll taken earlier this year showed Ensign leading by 19 points.

* In the competitive open gubernatorial campaign in Iowa, Secretary of State Chet Culver (D) is still leading Rep. Jim Nussle (R), but not by much. A new Rasmussen poll shows Culver up, 41% to 38%. In May, Culver led, 46% to 40%.

* Though Oregon Gov. Ted Kulongoski (D) has long been considered one of the more vulnerable incumbents this year, two new polls show him leading his GOP rival by double digits. A new Rasmussen poll shows Kulongoski ahead of Ron Saxton (R), 45% to 35%. A Grove Insight poll conducted for the Oregon AFL-CIO shows an even larger lead, 42% to 25%. Kulongoski seems to be rebounding at the ideal time: Rasmussen shows solid improvements in his personal and job approval ratings.

* And in Michigan, the back-and-forth between Gov. Jennifer Granholm (D) and Amway heir Dick DeVos (R) has swung back in the Republican's direction, at least according to the latest Rasmussen poll, which shows DeVos ahead, 48% to 42%.

--Guest Post by Steve Benen, The Carpetbagger Report

Today's installment of campaign-related news items that wouldn't generate a post of their own, but may be of interest to political observers:

* Last month, a Rasmussen poll shows Sen. Mike DeWine (R) leading Rep. Sherrod Brown (D) by seven points in Ohio's closely watched Senate race. Now, Rasmussen shows Brown taking a narrow lead, 44% to 42%. Speaking of Ohio, Rasmussen also shows Rep. Ted Strickland (D) continuing to lead Ohio Secretary of State Ken Blackwell by double digits, 50% to 39%. The margin is about the same as every Rasmussen poll since March.

* California Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger (R) has built a modest, but hardly insurmountable, lead over Phil Angelides (D) in a new Rasmussen poll, 47% to 41%. There appears to be a significant gender gap: Schwarzenegger leads by 18 points among men but trails by six among women.

* Kansas Gov. Kathleen Sebelius (D), who is strongly favored to win a second term, now has an opponent. State Sen. Jim Barnett (R) won a crowded primary field yesterday to become the GOP gubernatorial nominee.

* Dems have looked to New Hampshire as a state with key House pick-up opportunities, but a new Granite State Poll offers little encouragement. Republican incumbents Jeb Bradley and Charles Bass both hold solid leads over their Democratic challengers.

* And in West Virginia, Republican congressional candidate Chris Wakim, taking on Rep. Alan Mollohan (D), is under fire for allegedly exaggerating about his academic and military careers. Most notably, Wakin claims on his official bio to be a veteran of the first Gulf War, but during the conflict, he trained soldiers in Massachusetts. Wakim believes serving in the military during the war qualifies him as a "Gulf War veteran," but an Army official told The Hill, "You need a combat patch or Southwest Asia Service Medal to be a veteran of Desert Storm." Wakin has neither.

--Guest Post by Steve Benen, The Carpetbagger Report