An Open Letter to Rep. Jean Schmidt

Dear Representative Schmidt,

First of all, I would like to offer my sincere condolences on your short career in the U.S. House of Representatives. It is quite unfortunate that, as the newest member of the House, you were the one who drew the short straw and had to get up and say the “C” word in your party’s effort to undercut the proposal of Rep. John Murtha.

I realize that according to party strategy, the only way you could have any chance to regain control of the issue of the Iraq war was to characterize Murtha’s proposal as weak and irresponsible. This meant restating his proposal to make it sound like something you could call “cut and run,” and labeling a distinguished 30-year member of the House of Representatives as a coward. Sorry that you were the one who had to sacrifice your career to do it!

I also realize that you were only passing along the message you received in a phone call from Colonel Danny Bubp, Ohio Representative from the 88th district. So it is even more unfortunate that yours will be the ugly face of chickenhawk hypocrisy that is burned into the memory of everyone who saw your shameful performance. It is unfortunate that yours was the whiny voice we heard calling a 37-year Marine Corps Veteran a coward, while you support sending other peoples’ children to die in a war with no plan to get out!

It is particularly unfortunate that the above image is tailor made for your future political opponents to use in campaign ads against you. Or that Democrats all over the country will be lining up to donate to any opponent who happens to run against you. What a shame that someone else - a more senior member of the House who had already experienced a long career in public service, had not been chosen to be the attack dog on this particular issue.

Most of all, it is unfortunate that your district has to live with the embarrassment of having elected such a pathetic fool, who got up in front of the world, on their behalf, and said something so ridiculous that you had to retract it within minutes and slink back to your seat hoping everyone would eventually forget it ever happened.

Sincerely

seenos

P.S. By copy of this letter to Colonel Danny Bubp of Ohio, I would like to offer the following suggestion. Next time you decide to accuse one of your fellow ex-marines of cowardice, you will have much more credibility if you get up in public and make the accusation yourself, rather than phoning it in to a “98 lb woman” to make it for you!