Top Democrats Stepping Away From Wasserman Schultz
Democratic National Committee Chairwoman Debbie Wasserman Schultz. ( Stephen Lovekin/Getty Images)
Thursday, 18 Sep 2014 09:13 AM
Democratic National Committee Chairwoman Debbie Wasserman Schultz is losing support from the White House, congressional Democrats, and party operatives after hercontroversial comments recently comparing tea party advocates to domestic abusers and her criticisms of the White House's handling of the border crisis.
According to Politico, insiders believe the Florida congresswoman is more focused on her own political ambitions than boosting the party's fortunes.
For example, she has used meetings with Democratic donors to ask for contributions for her own PAC and campaign, has used Democratic National Committee aides to pursue her personal political agenda, and has tried to get the DNC to pay for her wardrobe.
"I guess the best way to describe it is, it's not that she's losing a duel anywhere, it's that she seems to keep shooting herself in the foot before she even gets the gun out of the holster," John Morgan, a major Florida donor, told Politico.
Based on the interviews of dozens of Democratic leaders and operatives, many expect that if former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton runs for president in 2016, Wasserman Schultz will be pushed out. She had served as a co-chair of Clinton's 2008 bid but secretly reached out to Obama weeks before Clinton lost the primary to pledge her support, Politico reported.
The move reportedly caused a permanent rift with the Clintons.
In 2012, the Obama team came close to replacing her, going so far as to line up a candidate, but decided not to at the last minute.
She has been mostly out of touch with the president for close to three years, without regular meetings or conversations, and the president does not include her in strategy talks.
She has also been criticized for campaigning mainly on behalf of Democratic candidates in safe seats, with the implication that she is doing so to secure their support for a possible leadership bid or to pitch for favors for her PAC and stops on her book tour, Politico reported.
"People know she works hard," said one House colleague. "But there's this sense that she only works hard for herself."
Wasserman Shultz, however, bristled at criticisms that she is using her post for personal gain or that her tenure could come to a premature end.
"My tenure here is not about me," she told Politico. "I like to help build this party. That's what I love and that's what I focused on."
"I am focused on doing this job," she added. "I was elected to a four-year term. And I fully expect to be in this job through January 2017."
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