The Worst Person In The World

(with apologies to Keith Olberman) is staring at you from the right. This, by the way, is her best photo, the publicity photo she uses on her congressional web site. She represents the 2nd District of Ohio in the House of Representatives, having defeated Paul Hackett (a former Major in the Marine Corps) in a special election last August to do so.

She is a piece of aging mouldering elephant dung who serves only to continue to demonstrate how base and valueless the Republicans have become.

By now, my dear political junkies, I am sure that you are aware of the unconscionable maneuver pulled by the Republicans yesterday, wherein they attempted to make a mockery of Rep. John Murtha's genuine concern about the course of the war and our presence in Iraq. They seem to be so insecure about the course of the war that they feel the need to supress discussion and dissent by any means necessary. I will not go into detail about Mr. Murtha's speech and expression of concern here. A transcript is readily available elsewhere.

But the discussion initiated by Ms. Schmidt has been stripped from the record. Let me provide you with The Post's rendition. The representative said: " 'a few minutes ago I received a call from Colonel Danny Bubp," an Ohio legislator and Marine Corps Reserve officer. "He asked me to send Congress a message: Stay the course. He also asked me to send Congressman Murtha a message: that cowards cut and run, Marines never do."'"

Yes, Rep. Schmidt called Rep. Murtha, an ex Marine who served the Corps for 37 years, a coward, not worthy of being a Marine. Let's review. Rep. Murtha volunteered to go to Vietnam, was awarded the Bronze Star with Combat "V", two Purple Hearts and the Vietnamese Cross of Gallantry. Rep. Schmidt earned a teaching certificate and runs marathons. And has foo foo dogs. You might want to see her family too, so you'll be sure to recognize her in the supermarket.

Go watch the film that ThinkProgress has kindly provided for us. It is seriously worth seeing it with your own eyes.

Then, as the Post describes it "Dozens of Democrats erupted at once, pointing angrily at Schmidt and shouting repeatedly, "Take her words down" -- the House term for retracting a statement. For a moment Schmidt tried to keep speaking, but the uproar continued and several GOP colleagues surrounded her as she sat down, looking slightly dazed. Presiding officer Mike Simpson (R-Idaho) gaveled in vain for order as Democrats continued shouting for Schmidt to take back her words. Rep. Martin T. Meehan (D-Mass.) yelled "You guys are pathetic!" from the far end of the Democratic section to the GOP side.

Just as matters seemed to calm a bit, Rep. Harold E. Ford Jr. (D-Tenn.) suddenly charged across the aisle to the GOP seats, jabbing his finger furiously at a small group of GOP members and shouting, "Say Murtha's name!" Rep. David R. Obey (D-Wis.), who had led the chants for striking Schmidt's comments, gently guided Ford by the arm back to the minority party's side."

The words were stricken from the record, but they are engraved on my memory. We have to do something about these people. They are not patriots. They are self-absorbed, narcissistic, ugly human beings who do not deserve to represent single-celled organisms. *spit*