What a Difference a Cycle Makes

Man, I sure do miss the Debbie Wasserman Schultz of old. Just one cycle ago, she was utterly unafraid to stand up for her party and campaign fiercely on behalf of her fellow Democrats:

While her moxie during debates over Terri Schiavo and Hurricane Katrina has earned kudos, it has also gotten the 39-year-old rookie into some trouble. She has rankled the longest-serving and most powerful congressman from South Florida, Republican Clay Shaw, by openly supporting his Democratic challenger.

Shaw’s staff said he tried to welcome her to the Capitol by offering advice and temporary office space and was upset to learn that she was helping state Sen. Ron Klein raise money and meet party leaders.

…

Wasserman Schultz served with Klein in the state Legislature for 12 years, and they are close friends. She was tapped by Democratic leaders to help with recruitment and said she could not stay out of a competitive congressional race.

“It’s not good for my relationship with Clay Shaw, but Democrats can’t afford to leave a seat like that uncontested,” she said.

What happened to DWS? Why are things all of a sudden so different? She took a big gamble taking on Shaw like that – Klein could easily have lost, and the Dems could very well have remained in the minority. Note that the article is from 2005, when Dem prospects didn’t look nearly so bright as they later would. Also note the URL – Debbie was proud enough of that piece to re-print it on her own website.

Now, Debbie Dubya has far less to lose – and yet she’s being far more hesitant. In fact, she’s being downright destructive toward Raul Martinez, Joe Garcia and Annette Taddeo, all in the name of “bipartisan comity.” Debbie was right two-and-a-half years ago – Dems couldn’t afford to leave a seat like Clay Shaw’s uncontested. And they can’t afford to leave FL-18, FL-21 & FL-25 anything less than vigorously contested this cycle, either.