While Mean Jean Schmidt tries to prolong the shelf life of her whoppers, Michele Bachmann spins yarns about caribou coffee klatches

You've got to hand it to Mean Jean Schmidt. She's . . . well, she's nuts, of course. But when she gets caught, she doesn't stammer and retreat into the woodwork. No, by gum, she charges full steam ahead! She keeps repeating the lie and blames everyone else for, well, every idiotic thing that comes into her head.

At first it was supposedly OK that she was lying her itty-bitty brain out because she read it somewhere. Only she didn't. Because the USA Today article that was her apparent "source" talked -- like in the opening of the lead sentence -- about maybe someday the Chinese drilling for oil off the shores of Cuba. (The article also talked about how expensive and risky the project is.) This our Jean transformed into the Chinese drilling now, off the coast of Florida.

Then it was okay that Mean Jean was lying because other people were saying the same thing. Mean Jean apparently doesn't notice that the people she associates with are overwhelmingly liars, sociopaths, and/or outright psychopaths. And she also failed to notice when all those other people stopped repeating the lies. The lesson here is that if you want to be a successful right-wing sociopath over a period of time, you have to learn when to back off a lie. That's the thing about being a right-wing loon: There are always lies, new and old, to take up.

Rule of thumb: When all the people with the tiniest shred of sanity in your own party are advising you for your own sake to shut the fuck up, shutting the fuck up is probably a good idea.

(Meanwhile, we'll leave it as a matter between Mean Jean and her caucus head, House Minority Leader "Sunny John" Boehner, to work out just how thrilled her fellow Ohioan is at being pointed at as one of the people also spreading the lies. We still think, though, that Sunny John may have some tips on congressional etiquette for her.)

For those who are curious, a really good DWT source, unlike Mean Jean's, has put together this timeline:

June 5, 2008 - Jean Schmidt Lies on the House Floor

“This very day, there is indeed the drilling activity off of our country’s coast. Not by our U.S. companies; that would be illegal. Instead, the Chinese are drilling off the coast of Florida, with their new energy partner, Cuba.”

June 17, 2008 – Schmidt’s Lie Reported in Cincinnati Enquirer

Vice President Dick Cheney, who made a similar claim, has issued a statement acknowledging that the Chinese are not drilling in that area, and Florida GOP Sen. Mel Martinez called the rumor "simply false."

"They are akin to urban legends," Martinez said on the Senate floor

June 17, 2008 – Schmidt blames John Boehner for her lie

Meanwhile, Schmidt's office has pointed out - correctly - that Schmidt was not the only southern Ohio lawmaker to mistakenly state that the Chinese are drilling off Florida.

June 17, 2008 – Tim Burke, Hamilton County Democrats, asks Schmidt to retract her lie

In light of the article in this morning's Enquirer, on behalf of all the of the residents of the 2nd Congressional District, I request that you immediately retract the statements you made on the floor of the United States House of Representatives on June 5th that “the Chinese are drilling off the coast of Florida.” (Attached)

June 17, 2008 – Ohio Democratic Party asks Schmidt to retract her lie

"Jean Schmidt owes her district and the state of Ohio an apology for yet another embarrassing performance in Congress," Redfern said in a press release. " I hope Jean Schmidt will publicly retract her false statements and place remarks in the official Congressional Record clarifying that the urban legend she told was untrue. Whether she's insulting a decorated war hero like John Murtha or telling lies for political advantage, Jean Schmidt has consistently misrepresented the hard-working, honest people of Ohio."

June 18, 2008 –In letter to Burke, Jean Schmidt blames Democrats for her lie

While I have yet to receive a copy of your letter attacking me, I wanted to respond as soon as possible. I always enjoy your loose relationship with the truth, but this one may well earn you a gold medal for hypocrisy. ... Further, I find it amazing that the Communists in Cuba have demonstrated a better understanding of the laws of supply and demand than your party. (Attached)

June 20, 2008 - Tim Burke responds to Schmidt’s vitriolic letter

“While I have no reason to believe that you made a deliberate attempt to deceive, you made a statement on the floor of the U.S. House of Representatives that was not true, a mistake that should be acknowledged and corrected. That was all I asked. So I was surprised by your vitriolic, wild reply…I guess Saturday Night Live got it right.” (Attached)

June 20, 2008 – Schmidt blames the media for her lie

"Just like most Americans, the Congresswoman gets a lot of her information from the media," Pfaff said. "People are behaving as if she pulled this out of thin air. We're learning our lesson though. I guess the next time we'll have to call the Cuban government to see if they are drilling."

June 21, 2008 – Schmidt blames “others” for her lie

“”On June 5, I stated that the Chinese were drilling for oil in conjunction with the Cuban government. I was not the only one to have made that statement.” (Attached)\

June 23, 2008 – Enquirer refuses to print Democratic response to Schmidt column

CINCINNATI (TDB) -- Caleb Faux, executive director of the Hamilton County Democratic Party and chair of the Cincinnati Planning Commission, asked the Cincinnati Enquirer for equal time to reply to U.S. Rep. Jean Schmidt. Faux says the newspaper rejected his request for space to face off against Schmidt over her claim that the Chinese are drilling for oil off the coast of Florida.

As I said the other day, Mean Jean's unforgivable sin isn't saying stuff that wasn't true, or even sticking with it after everyone has told her it isn't true. It's the cluelessness, rudeness, and aggressiveness with which she continues despite all warnings to propagate demonstrated lies. I don't say for sure that her mental illness is beyond hope of treatment, just that she has proved herself mentally and morally unfit to hold public office. As I said then, she should resign from Congress immediately. And let me add now, so as not to appear totally heartness, that as soon as she does resign, she should seek mental-health help ASAP.


SPEAKING OF CONGRESSIONAL LOONS RUNNING LOOSE:
SOME TIME FOR MINNESOTA'S NUTTY MICHELE BACHMANN

When I wrote about Mean Jean last, our friend Bil added a comment pointing out that Minnesota Rep. Michele Bachmann was spewing the same nonsense, and suggesting that she's every bit as crazy as Mean Jean and deserves the consideration due someone in her condition.

I certainly can't quarrel with this. Somehow, though, Mean Jean keeps grabbing the spotlight with that utter cluelessness, utterer viciousness, and still utterer unawareness of that big, dark thing called Reality she keeps bumping up against. This is unfair to people who are just as ignorant, just as nuts, and just as dangerous.

It was just a week ago today that Minnesota's Michele told radio host Jack Rice that drilling may be good for the environment, just as the Alaska Pipeline has been -- providing warmth and a meeting ground for caribou coffee klatches.

Keith Olbermann had fun with this Monday night on Countdown, though unfortunately it didn't land her better than runner-up for Worst Person in the World:




UPDATE: MEAN JEAN SURE HAS HER PRIORITIES MIXED UP

She would rather talk about imaginary Chinese oil wells off the coast of Florida than address real problems Americans are facing. When asked by a reporter for the Portsmouth Daily Times about Iraq, her spokesperson, Bruce Pfaff, referred to polling numbers she interprets to mean that people in Ohio don't care about the war in Iraq. "In the numbers we see, the war is not a big issue at this point. A lot of that has to do with that fact the surge-- obviously, we believe, at this point-- is effective in fighting the insurgents and al-Qaida terrorists who have come to Iraq to fight U.S. troops." The Mean Jean campaign does acknowledge that the escalating price of gas is a problem though. That could be a huge problem for her re-election prospects since she has always voted for whatever Big Oil has asked for while taking $1,000 in "campaign contributions" from them this year. The average bribe to a member of Congress from Big Oil for 2008 has been $13,245 and part of the reason special interests like her so much is because she is always willing to sell her constituents' interests out so cheaply. Even neighboring rubber stampers like John Boehner ($35,000), Bob Latta ($26,250), Pat Tiberi ($13,700) and Steve Chabot ($7,000) charge a lot more to sell their votes to Big Oil than Mean Jean.