I’m getting a lecture on recruitment when A, you haven’t done a goddamn thing and B, we’ve got a [Republican] target and you’re out there kissing his ass in the press?
– Rahm Emanuel (The Thumpin’)
I can’t say enough good things about Ileana Ros-Lehtinen; she has been my friend since I was first elected to office.
– Debbie Wasserman Schultz (Miami Herald)
You see, in my trade, this is called – what you did – you cracked out of turn. Huh? You see? You crumbed the play.
– Joe Mantegna (House of Games)
Why is a co-chair of the DCCC’s Red to Blue program blathering to the press about her inability – nay, refusal – to help fellow Democrats, and how fond she is of a particular Republican? If this truly is such a sensitive issue, Debbie Dubya could at least have kept things quiet and handled matters privately in Chris Van Hollen’s office.
Instead, for no reason at all, she chose to make a big public mess of it. And things like this have serious reprecussions:
However, Stuart Rothenberg, editor of the Rothenberg Political Report, which tracks political campaigns, said the lack of support from top Democrats could make donors leery.
“Debbie Wasserman Schultz is a favorite of leadership, somebody on the move,” Rothenberg said. “When somebody like that doesn’t want to be a major player in taking on a Republican, that’s a signal.”
No shit. Bizarre public confessionals like Debbie Dubya’s can have a devastating impact on promising challengers like our South Florida trio, especially with big donors and establishment players. Is it too much to ask key Democratic leaders not to air their dirty laundry down at Lincoln Road Mall?
Debbie Dubya herself said: “At the end of the day, we need a member who isn’t going to pull any punches, who isn’t going to be hesitant.” We also need someone who is savvy enough to keep his or her mouth shut for the duration of the campaign cycle. It’s bad enough that Wasserman Schultz is kneecapping excellent candidates. Her inability to refrain from “cracking out of turn” is another reason why she should step down from her post – unless she does a 180 on this, and vocally supports Raul Martinez, Joe Garcia and Annette Taddeo, just like proud Democrats everywhere are doing.