Monstrous

Jean Schmidt, elected Tuesday in a special election, will be in the US Congress, representing a district from the state of Ohio.  Ohio is the state in which the 20 Marines who have died this week in Iraq were based.  Chris Matthews asked her about that last night.  Here's what she said:

MATTHEWS:  Let's take a look at something you said here on this program last week and see if you still think this way right now. 

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SCHMIDT:  They're not solely focused on this war.  Maybe the national media is, but the people right here in southern Ohio are talking about issues that affect them.  They're talking about having tax cuts that are permanent, because they want to spend their own money.  They don't want government to. 

(END VIDEO CLIP)

MATTHEWS:  Issues that affect them.  Do you think that the loss of the 20 guys over there, servicemen fighting for their country over in Iraq, that Ohio-based unit, is going to bring this war home to people? 

SCHMIDT:  I don't think it is going to bring the war home any more differently than the button that I wear on my lapel.  And that's for Matt Maupin, the only missing soldier in Iraq. 

The people in Ohio are very smart.  They understand the sacrifice that these men and women are making on our behalf.  But they also want to talk about other issues, issues like taxes and tax reform, like a strong energy policy.  They want to talk about national issues, including Iraq, but also border patrol and border security. 

And yesterday, as I stood outside the polls for 13 hours, I never heard people talking about the war.  They talked about issues that were more important and more local to them.

Congressperson-elect Schmidt sure does have her priorities straight; she knows what really matters.  Congressperson-elect Schmidt knows that there are issues that are "more important and more local" to the people of Ohio than when 20 US Marines based in Ohio are killed in a matter of days.  Congressperson-elect Schmidt wants to remind us what they really care about: "other issues, issues like taxes and tax reform, like a strong energy policy." 

Thanks, Congressperson-elect Schmidt, for explaing to everyone what's really important -- making sure that a family of four making over $200,000 a year gets an extra thousand dollars this year, so they can buy some solid gold lapels that their expensive media consultants tell them look great on television.  Because as you know, Congressperson-elect Schmidt, freedom isn't free.  It costs money, and how can we expect real patriots to afford the American flag handbags, bumper stickers, and bikinis that your campaign probably tried to sell them if they're giving too much of their money to the federal government, which is probably spending it on the latte-drinking volvo-driving smug liberal elitist media evolutionist welfare queens who hate people of faith anyway?

Thanks, Congressperson Schmidt, for making sure that the rest of us patriots know that the people of Ohio aren't phased by 20 of their boys being blown to bits.  That they have their priorities straight, and want to make sure their bosses at the lumber mill have that extra money to spend, er, invest, on new kitchen counters and silver shower curtains.  I assumed, like the rest of the country, that people from Ohio would be sad that some of their children wouldn't be coming home.  Thanks for the setting the record straight, Congressperson-elect Schmidt, and telling us that as long as the richest 1% of Americans gets its tax cuts, the people of Ohio will happily wait for their few dollars to trickle down.  I appreciate your truly selfless devotion to correcting those of us who assumed you had a soul.

-- Michael

Comments

[Mike]

Michael, while I think you definitely have a point, I see the other side of what Schmidt's saying.

It reminds me of something I heard recently. I was at a rather large farewell dinner for a few of my friends and well represented were both R's and D's. I heard something spew forth from the most vocal conservative there that really sort of gave me an understanding of why statements like the above don't strike me as all that odd. He said in response to a question about his views on the "War on Terror",

"At the end of the day, all I'm really concerned about is my family, the price of my gas, and the government taking less out of my paycheck. Is the war horrible? Sure, but what am I supposed to do about it? I have enough to worry about as it is."

While I see Schmidt's comments as irresponsible (in speaking for the whole of her constituency), I have a sense of what she's saying and I think there's a lot of truth in it for a lot of people. Not the majority, necessarily, but a significant number of people. Many people have terrible long term memory retention, especially when the memories comprise things that don't directly involve them. Ask a random guy or gal from Ohio in a month how many soldiers died - how many do you think are going to remember? That said, I believe most people are focused on issues happening at home, to them, almost exclusively.

Myself, I have been and am vehemently opposed to the war. And even though I think about it every day, along with people who are dying thousands of miles away in bomb blasts, natural disasters or unremitting famine... I have to say there is so much going on here that needs our attention that I, for one, am a little overwhelmed at times. So I guess what I'm saying is: regarding these specific statements, I have a hard time saying she's wrong, but an easy time calling her callous and emotionally dead and/or constipated.

An aside: regarding those local issues and the way they're handled (especially tax reform), you're right on. I believe the way we are currently addressing these issues as a nation is teetering economic equilibrium and rewarding those which need it the least. It has me wondering whether or not the ruling party simply needs to spend a christmas in whoville, or if it needs to take a grade school refresher course on the meaning of arithmetic operators (er, dem pluses and minuses). And decimal points. Definitely decimal points.

But I digress.

[Mary Grace Horensky]

Please don't lump all Ohio with the likes of Ms Schmidt. I live in Ohio,the Cleveland area near Brookpark,and believe me there are a lot of us out here that truly care about this bogus war. We also care about the slaughter of our military and the people of Iraq brought about by this idiot in the White House. So once more on Sept.24th I along with my daughter and three grandsons will travel to Washington for the 4th time to protest Bush's war. No I am not a wild hippie type but a 72 yr. old grandmother worried about my grandchildren and all the other children being sucked into this folly.

[Jarod]

Wow. Brutal. Beautiful.