Jean Schmidt (profile here) is the nasty Ohio Republican who, as a member of Congress, called the late Rep. John Murtha (D-PA, bio here)), a career Marine Corps officer and twice-wounded Vietnam veteran, a “coward” on the House floor for not supporting President G.W. Bush’s Iraq military adventure (details here).
Schmidt (who, btw, is not a veteran) also lied about her education and campaign endorsements (details here and here), and a watchdog group labeled her one of the “most corrupt” members of Congress (details here). She was defeated by a fellow Republican who is an Iraq War veteran.
But that didn’t end her toxic political career; she was, inexplicably, elected to the Ohio legislature in 2020.
She’s back in the news in that capacity, and because of her abortion views. She got in hot water in 2010 by ranting against abortion to elementary school students (see story here). On Wednesday, April 28, 2022, she introduced a bill to outlaw all abortions in Ohio if the Supreme Court overturns Roe v. Wade. A lot of people will think that’s extreme, but it’s what she said that’s making news.
State Rep. Schmidt (R-Miami Twp.) called rape an “opportunity” for the rape victim to raise the rapist’s child to possibly someday might cure cancer (read story here). (Note: It’s unlikely any one person will cure cancer; there are many types of cancer, and searching for cancer cures is a massive, multi-billion-dollar health industry involving thousands of scientists.)
Stupidity and a big mouth are a bad combination. There’s little more I can say about this. I feel sorry for the many good citizens of Ohio who can’t do anything about it because they don’t live in her district.