It appears Congresswoman Schmidt has won the election. I feel it necessary to send her an open letter:

Dear Congresswoman,

Let me be one of the many to congratulate you on your re-election to the US Congress 2nd District from Ohio. Re-election to a federal office is no small feat; it takes money, sacrifice, and a strong support base to win.

However, let me make something VERY clear: The victory you are celebrating is by no means a mandate on the feelings of the residents of the 2nd district. You were barely re-elected. The residents of the district are split almost evenly in their opinion that you should NOT represent us. I, unfortunately, am one of those residents.

First and foremost, you have been a complete embarrassment to this district. In 2005, you were elected to fill Congressman Portman’s seat by a very slim margin, a margin a good 10-15 points LESS than Portman always secured. That should have sent a message to you; when you took office, you should have sat quietly, listened, and learned how to govern from the congressmen and women who had been there and EARNED the privilege to to do so. However, in the manner in which you seem to always govern, you took the floor and embarrassed yourself, and in turn embarrassed all of us here in Southwest Ohio. Your subsequent handling of the matter was horrible, and stained this district for many years to come.

In the primary this year, you were despicable. The attack ads you ran were distasteful, and unfortunately again showed us all your true character. The label you have earned over the years, MEAN JEAN, fits you well. You faced numerous allegations regarding your character, faced election violations of false statements about your education, and attacked your opponent. I could not believe how mean and underhanded the attacks were. That is not the attitude nor character I have come to expect from our governmental leaders.

After the primary, I fully expected you to run a campaign focused on issues, and how you would work for us here in the 2nd district. Again your true character showed up, and you attacked your opponent, but never ONCE did I see anything positive about what you WOULD DO FOR US. At that point I realized you were not going to change, and for the second time I voted against you.

Now that the election is over, and you are returning to Washington, IT IS TIME TO CHANGE. Now is the time to show true leadership and character, and work in a BI-PARTISAN manner to work for us here in Ohio, all of us, not just your far right wing base, including the cronies in the Clermont County Republican Party. You just cannot afford to be polarizing anymore. Now is the time to focus on the issues; do NOT let the government make Ohio a toxic dumping ground; work with the Congress to insure we find a successful and timely solution to the war in Iraq, and BRING OUR TROOPS HOME SAFELY; do not punish legal aliens for coming to America to find the “American Dream”, but do not let those who break the law get off free and clear; improve our healthcare options for all of us, and bring jobs and prosperity BACK to Ohio.

Two years is a VERY VERY SHORT TIME. Step up and work for us Congresswoman Schmidt. So when someone says “The Honorable Congresswoman from Ohio’s 2nd District”, we are not met with chuckles and snickers, but with rousing agreement.

Signed……

An Angry Resident…AngryClermontGOP