OH-02: Schmidt (R) Shows Fear, Embraces Debunked "Malariotherapy" Smear

On the heels of an independent poll showing Rep. "Mean Jean" Schmidt (R-Loveland) at a dismal approval rating of 23% and trailing repeat challenger Dr. Victoria Wulsin (D-Indian Hill) by 5.6 points, the incumbent has sent out a fund-raising letter that telegraphs her panic by taking up the now-discredited smear campaign against Wulsin linked to so-called "malariotherapy" experiments conducted by the Heimlich Institute. The letters states:

Wulsin's contempt for the culture of life has even led her to participate in grotesque medical experiments. Wulsin was paid for her work in medical "studies" where victims of AIDS in Africa and China were, without their consent, injected with the malaria virus, all in the name of "scientific inquiry."

This is a patently false statement. Dr. Wulsin was paid by the Cincinnati-based Heimlich Institute as a consultant in 2004 to review the literature in studies conducted by others -- she did not "participate" in the studies and she was fired as a consultant when she turned in a draft report that found the procedure to have no basis in medical science.

Moreover, as reported on this blog last week, Dr. Wulsin met with the State Medical Board of Ohio in April and was informed that there was no merit to the medical ethics complaint filed against her in connection with the Heimlich Institute literature review -- a complaint long touted by right wing bloggers as indicating that there was substance to their allegations against Wulsin -- and no further action would be taken with respect to it.

Dr. Wulsin has been running a clean campaign focused on the issues and Rep. Schmidt's voting record. Schmidt is running from her record and resorting to a despicable smear. That's a pretty strong indicator of where this race really stands.

UPDATE: Sloat is excellent on this. He points out how Schmidt's characterization of Wulsin as a mad scientist is contradicted by the very medical ethics complaint that underpinned the whole smear campaign. And -- as icing on the cake -- Schmidt's statement that patients were "injected with the malaria virus" can't possibly be true because malaria isn't caused by a virus.