Introducing Your New Ohio GOP All-Stars!

The Mysterious Cipher does her good deed for the day by pointing out the Republican establishment's continuing opposition to reform in what has become a name synonymous with political dirty tricks: Ohio! (Sorry, Ohioans.) Ken Blackwell became the new Kathryn Harris by doing all things semi-legal to tilt last year's election in favor of Bush and Cheney. Oddly, five years after the Florida debacle, Harris has become a GOP pariah. But Blackwell doesn't appear to be smart enough to adopt a different strategy for getting ahead in the Republican game. Mr Blackwell, a word of advice: while the party depends on low-level ass-kissers like yourself to enact their shifty political machinations, they also have to disavow any knowledge of your misdeeds on their behalf. Plausible deniability. You're radioactive, pal.

Ken Blackwell has co-written a book, due out in March, called Rebuilding America. It's described on the book jacket as "a prescription for creating strong families, building the wealth of working people, and ending welfare."

It sounds a little dull, frankly. But Blackwell's co-author, Jerome Corsi, is more than capable of spicing it up.

Corsi is best known as co-author of Unfit for Command, which contained the Swift Boat veterans' allegations about John Kerry's service in Vietnam.

But Corsi has engaged in some less formal writing in the form of postings on the conservative website Free Republic, in which he said some unsavory things about Muslims, Catholics and Clintons. Using the signature "jrlc," Corsi called Muslims "ragheads," called Pope John Paul II "senile," called Hillary Clinton a "fat hog," and called her daughter "Chubby Chelsea."

Raise your glass, friends, to informed political debate. And the political demise of Kathryn Harris and Kent Blackwell. May all right-wing opportunists and toadies suffer a similar career arc.

UPDATE: Fightin' man OD1 rightfully points out my premature jubilation over the wished-for-but-not-inevitable demise of Ken Blackwell. And as an Ohioan, he should know. All other readers are respectfully asked to point out any instances of cynicism-deficiency on my part.