Former maha next-door-neighbor “Mean” Jean Schmidt, now a U.S. Congresswoman from Ohio, is being called out for possibly making false claims about how fast she can run a marathon. Matt Leingang writes for the Associated Press:

Republican Rep. Jean Schmidt is fast, capable of running a marathon in 3 hours, 19 minutes, 6 seconds.

At least that’s what a photo on the Ohio congresswoman’s Web site shows.

No way, says a rival who contends that the picture from the 1993 Columbus Marathon is doctored and complained to state election officials. A four-member commission panel ruled Thursday that there was enough evidence to look into the complaint.

Nathan Noy, who is running against Schmidt as a write-in candidate, says that Ms. Schmidt was the only runner in the photo who doesn’t cast a shadow. (Here’s the photo; seems to me one of the shadows could be hers.) Also, a newspaper story about the race does not list Schmidt among the top runners. Schmidt’s attorney says he has an official results book from the race that shows Schmidt’s official time as 3:19:09. (Read more about Noy’s allegations here.)

On her Web site, Schmidt, who is 54, said she has completed 59 marathons.

Now she’s saying 60 marathons since 1990. I seem to recall she was running marathons when I knew her 25 years ago, and I don’t think the photo was faked, so I’d be surprised if anything comes of this. However,

In April, she received a public reprimand from the Ohio Elections Commission for claiming on her Web site that she had two college degrees when she had only one.

She was doing good to get the one. A brain she’s not.

And then there was the famous Danny Bubp episode. As reported in the Cincinnati Enquirer:

Three days after Rep. Jean Schmidt was booed off the House floor for saying that “cowards cut and run, Marines never do,” the Ohioan she quoted disputed the comments.

Danny Bubp, a freshman state representative who is a colonel in the Marine Corps Reserve, told The Enquirer that he never mentioned Rep. John Murtha, D-Pa., by name when talking with Schmidt, and he would never call a fellow Marine a coward. …

… Schmidt – decked out in a red-white-and-blue suit that resembled the U.S. flag – went to the floor and quoted from a telephone conversation with Bubp: “He asked me to send Congress a message: Stay the course.

“He also asked me to send Congressman Murtha a message: That cowards cut and run, Marines never do.”

The comment drew a chorus of boos and shouting from Democrats.

It’s unclear whether Schmidt, who will start her 79th day in the House today, knew at the time of her remarks that Murtha had served 37 years in the Marine Corps and Marine Corps Reserve.

She immediately took back her remarks. It’s against House rules to refer to a fellow lawmaker by name or to criticize them.

Another Enquirer story said Schmidt’s constituents were embarrassed by the “coward” remarks. On the other hand, Schmidt “got a round of applause at a recent closed-door meeting of House Republicans. She’s even gotten several marriage proposals.”

There are some sick people out there, folks.

Jean barely squeaked by a Republican challenger in this spring’s primaries. Her Democratic opponent in the general election is Dr. Victoria Wulsin. I’m a bit put out that the netroots guys who organize these things didn’t crank up netroots support for Dr. Wulsin, who clearly would be a huge improvement. More here. But she’s not on the Official Netroots Act Blue page.

If you want to help her out, here is Dr. Wulsin’s individual Act Blue donation page.

Update: Mimikatz at The Next Hurrah says Schmidt’s seat is vulnerable.