The Hill takes us on a trip down memory lane to Jean Schmidt at the 1984 Republican National Convention:

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.


While I agree with her on the whole drinking thing, I doubt that I could have expressed the sentiment quite as eloquently as the future Congresswoman.

Ya know… I bet that there a lot of men and women half way around the world who could use a good drink right now. Maybe the Congresswoman could look into that.

The Enquirer Politics Extra “blog” has more details.