John G. Schmitz

John George Schmitz (August 12, 1930–January 10, 2001) was an ultraconservative member of the United States House of Representatives from Orange County, California, prominent member of the John Birch Society, and the American Independent Party candidate for President of the United States in 1972.

Contents

1 Professional biography 2 Political views 3 Abortion hearing and aftermath 4 Extramarital affair 5 Letourneau-Fualaau scandal

Professional biography

Schmitz was born in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. He obtained his B.S. degree from Marquette University in 1952 and an M.A. from California State University, Long Beach in 1960. He served as a United States Marine Corps jet fighter and helicopter pilot from 1952 to 1960, and was a lieutenant colonel in the United States Marine Corps Reserve from 1960 to 1983.

Schmitz was an instructor in philosophy and political science at Santa Ana College (now Rancho Santiago College ). His right-wing views attracted the attention of wealthy Orange County conservatives such as fast-food magnate Carl Karcher, sporting goods heir Willard Voit and San Juan Capistrano rancher Tom Rogers . He served in the California Senate from 1964 until 1970, and was elected to the United States Congress as a member of the Republican Party, serving from 1970 until 1973. He entered the 91st Congress after a special election to fill the seat of James B. Utt , who had died; he was re-elected to the 92nd Congress but was failed to earn another nomination to the seat in 1972 (or later, in 1976).

Schmitz was the American Independent Party candidate for U.S. President in 1972.

He served another term as a member of the California Senate from 1978 until 1982.

Schmitz died in Washington, D.C., and was interred at Arlington National Cemetery.

Political views

John Schmitz was generally considered one of the most conservative members of the Congress, and was known for his outrageous political comments. In 1965, he called the Watts riots "a communist operation". He considered Richard M. Nixon and Ronald Reagan liberals, and suggested, when Nixon first went to China, that it would be best if he not come back. Some of his remarks had anti-Semitic overtones. In 1978, he advocated a military coup, which caused even the John Birch Society to decide that enough was enough—they revoked his membership.

Abortion hearing and aftermath

In 1982, he chaired a committee hearing on abortion, which led to his issuing a press release headlined "Senator Schmitz and His Committee Survive Attack of the Bulldykes". He referred to his audience at the hearings as having "hard, Jewish, and arguably female faces." Feminist attorney Gloria Allred, who had testified before the committee, sued for $10 million, but settled for $20,000 and an apology. Schmitz's apology read, in part, "I have never considered her to be...a slick, butch lawyeress".

Extramarital affair

That same year, an infant boy was treated at an Orange County hospital for having hair tied so tightly around his penis that it was almost severed. The baby was placed in protective custody , and the court demanded that the baby's father step forward. It turned out that Schmitz, a purported defender of family values, was the father. The baby's mother, a 43-year-old German immigrant, was his mistress and had two children by the former Congressman. This scandal effectively ended his career.

Letourneau-Fualaau scandal

In 1997, Schmitz's daughter, Mary Kay Letourneau, was arrested for the statutory rape of a teenaged boy with whom she had an affair and a child. Newspapers reported that Letourneau's father had attempted to find a loophole in United States treaties with Samoa in order to find out if his daughter could be excused from trial (the boy victim in the case was of Samoan extraction.)

At the time of his daughter's scandal, it was revealed that John Schmitz had left politics, and was selling souvenirs at Washington, D.C.'s Union Station. He had also bought the home of his hero, Senator Joseph McCarthy.

The newspapers had a field day with the Schmitz family in the wake of the Letourneau case. Investigators painted a picture of a chilly household with an unemotional mother who stressed appearance over affection.