Posted on 03/08/2006 8:01:25 PM PST by conservative_2001
As a delegate to the Republican National Convention in 1984, Rep. Jean Schmidt (R-Ohio) expressed her contempt for a future colleague and allegedly likened young Republican activists to Hitler, according to an interview published by the local paper at the time.
While shadowing Schmidt at the convention, The Cincinnati Enquirer reporter initially described Schmidt as a “woman who will speak her mind whenever she pleases.”
Schmidt, who was 32 at the time, provided evidence for this assessment during her time with the reporter, who quoted her taking issue with future Sen. Elizabeth Dole (R-N.C.), who was then President Reagan’s transportation secretary. During her tenure at Transportation, Dole wanted to impose a nationwide drinking age of 21.
“I hate that woman,” she told the reporter. “I just can’t stand her. Anyone who wants to force an increase in the drinking age to 21. … She can send our boys off to fight wars when they’re 17 and 18 but won’t let them drink till they’re 21.”
She added, “That stinks.”
The article also details her “booing” during a Dole appearance at the convention.
A spokeswoman for Dole, chairwoman of the National Republican Senatorial Committee, declined to comment for this report.
Barry Bennett, Schmidt’s chief of staff, said, “The conservatives and the moderates didn’t get along very well in the 1980s. You can’t take a remark in the heat of a campaign out of context. That’s not fair.”
Bennett added that Schmidt was a Reagan supporter when the article was written.
Later in the article, while expressing her opinions about young Republican activists, she said, “They look like young Hitlers to me. … They’re so grim and deadly serious about the cause.”
“How are we going to attract mainstream kids to our party, kids who like to have fun and don’t take themselves so seriously?” she asked.
Bennett disputed that Schmidt made the comment, explaining that her twin sister, Jennifer Black, who was also mentioned in the paragraph, made the remark.
When asked to comment about her sister’s supposed remark, Bennett replied, “I don’t work for her sister.”
Michael Harlow, a spokesman for former Rep. Bob McEwen (R-Ohio), who is challenging Schmidt in the May primary, said, “It is disappointing to hear the contempt Mrs. Schmidt holds for Senator Dole, a woman who Bob McEwen and most Americans hold in very high esteem.”
He added: “Also, the hardworking activists she called ‘Hitlers’ were instrumental in our successful efforts to gain the majority for just the second time in 70 years.”
Schmidt defeated McEwen in an 11-candidate primary in July in a special election to fill the seat vacated by former Rep. Rob Portman (R-Ohio), who became the U.S. trade representative.
James P. Urling, chairman of the Cincinnati-based Coalition Opposed to Additional Spending and Taxes (COAST), a group founded by another former Schmidt opponent, Tom Brinkman, said, “Jean Schmidt has a history of nasty barbs aimed at values we all hold dear.”
Schmidt faces a primary in May against McEwen as well as a general election in November. Brinkman has since dubbed Schmidt “Mean Jean” and has called her a “pathological liar.”
Bennett responded by calling Brinkman “the king of outrageous comments” and "a fringe player in politics in Cincinnati."
Schmidt’s unabashed candor became national news and the butt of a joke on "Saturday Night Live" in November. She had made negative remarks about 17th-term Rep. John Murtha (D-Pa.) after he called for Bush to withdraw troops from Iraq. Schmidt later withdrew her words.
On Tuesday, Schmidt removed a claim on her website that Reps. Tom Tancredo (R-Colo.) and Steve Chabot (R-Ohio) had endorsed her in the Republican primary this year after Tancredo and Chabot’s office said it was not true.
If it's quoting from a 22-year-old article, it most certainly is gotcha journalism.
Dennis' daughter Jackie would be 20 now. It'd be difficult for me to believe that The Hill would have a full-time reporter who isn't yet out of college.
Now that is a fair point. The first one you've made. What really makes me suspicious of people like you is that what you are doing is really onanistic. You might do a good job of convincing people in Iowa or Texas or Alaska that she's not good for the people of her Ohio district, but then where are you? FreeRepublic is not the best vehicle for that kind of activism.
Wouldn't it be nice of Ohio kicked this one to the curb!
That should be the late Shirley Maclaine.
Did not know she died - you sure?
I'm sorry. I was mistaken. I must have confused her with another actress.
Here's a link to an article from February.
http://edition.cnn.com/2006/SHOWBIZ/Movies/02/21/macleine.reut/
Young Republicans (yours truly included), can be quite hot-headed--not too different in that regard than young democrats in the hotheadedness--though young activists on the left can be considerably worse in showing contempt for others in their party... I'm not shocked that she might have said something like that, but to hold it against her 22 years later is ludicrous and idiotic. Judge her on the merits and facts now, and her record in the house, and on her false claims of being endorsed by Tancredo and Chabot, not on something that happened almost a quarter of a century ago. Heck democrats forgive Byrd for being a klansman, and that is far worse.
Later in the article, while expressing her opinions about young Republican activists, she said, “They look like young Hitlers to me. … They’re so grim and deadly serious about the cause.”
It went from "allegedly" to a quote pretty quickly.
Michael Harlow, a spokesman for former Rep. Bob McEwen (R-Ohio), who is challenging Schmidt in the May primary, said, “It is disappointing to hear the contempt Mrs. Schmidt holds for Senator Dole, a woman who Bob McEwen and most Americans hold in very high esteem.”
This has McEwen's fingerprints all over it. Thanks for this post, conservative. A friend has been trying to get me to take some Schmidt bumper stickers, but I've been putting it off. This post has convinced me to support Jean Schmidt.
Interesting. Can you link to where the claim was made and where it was refuted?
All that I know about her is that she defeated that duplicitous monster Hackett and that she called Murtha a "coward" on the House floor.
I found an article where Chabot and Schmidt joined together in voting "present" in a resolution honoring the Steelers and an earlier one where Chabot defended Schmidt's Hackett remarks. Searching on Tancredo is problematic.
And one cannot like Reagan, then turn around and violate Reagan's 11th commandment.
Is the whole one cannot like Reagan and Dole at same time thing due to the liberterian (small L) view of politics of Reagan and belief in self government, vs. the Dole wing view of socially conservative big government?
As long as it has an R on it, its okay with me...
Awwww, you're just pissed that she smacked down your girl Liddy Dole.
I view Rep. Schmidt solely through the prism of Schmidt vs. McEwen. I only offer her defense when matched against the less-than-distinguished former Congressman and some of the over-the-top and reaching attacks. From what has been explained, her record in the legislature was at worst, not stellar, and at best, perhaps average. The problem is that she has barely been in the Congress long enough to establish an objectionable record (and there have been more than a few individuals who amassed stellar records in state legislatures only to falter in DC, and some with mediocre legislative records who turned out to be a pleasant surprise in DC). If Miss Schmidt had served a full term demonstrating mediocrity and had a strong Conservative and non-flawed opponent, she would be fair game, and I would give considerable attention to the opponent. In this case, it simply is no contest. For whatever flaws Schmidt has, McEwen's more than outweigh them.
My position during the special, to be clear, was that I was solely anti-DeWine (for a time, I actually had forgotten how flawed McEwen was, and gave momentary thought to voicing support for him -- so as long as it was either Brinkman or Schmidt, that would be fine). Do not believe I have a burning passion for Schmidt, as I surely don't have for the mess the OH GOP has gotten itself into, but as long as the equation is Schmidt vs. McEwen, it's a very easy choice. Schmidt wins hands-down.
Not only was she right about the Doles and the drinking age, but I was a young conservative in 1984. I went to see Howard Phillips speak once. After, they had a meeting of the local Young Republicans. I don't know about Hitler, but they were UBER-ICKY! I know what she meant.
I remember the '84 convention too. At what should've been a golden moment for conservatives, I realized that the establishment still dominated the GOP. It was very disappointing.
I'm not a Libertarian. That's pretty much their permanent condition.
Where have you been? Schmidt's false claims of endorsements from Chabot and Tancredo are all over the place.
The links below discuss Mean Jean's lies regarding both the Chabot and Tancredo non-endorsements.
http://news.cincinnati.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20060308/NEWS01/603080356/-1/CINCI
http://frontier.cincinnati.com/blogs/gov/2006/03/schmidt-chabot-in-endorsement-dispute.asp
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