Wasserman Schultz Says Voters' 'Buyer's Remorse,' GOP 'Civil War' Could Help Dems Gain Seats

The chairwoman of the Democratic National Committee said she believes her party will gain seats in the fall because Americans have “buyer’s remorse” about electing so many Tea Party members in the past.

“How many times does President Obama have to — extended his hand across the aisle, offered to sit down, said let’s sit down and work things out, put things in his budget that our party has fundamental problems with, simply to be able to get the Republicans to understand that we want to find common ground?” Rep. Debbie Wasserman Schultz (D-Fla.) said this morning on CNN.

“The tea party extremists, sadly, that have been allowed to control the direction of the Republican party have a stranglehold — on their party. And so it’s prevented them,” she said, adding that of her 21 years in office she’s been in the minority for 13 years. “I understand it can’t be my way or the highway… I support my party’s agenda, but you have to put aside differences, figure out where you can agree so you can move forward together.”

She said the only thing to change the current gridlock in Washington “is an election” — or more.

“We might have to have a couple of elections until it’s clear to, at least from my perspective, to the Republicans that the path that they have chosen, the path of extremism, the path of doing nothing but obstructing the president’s ability to get stuff done and choosing not to work with him is going to be rejected by the American people,” Wasserman Schultz continued.

Of her party’s chances in the fall, “I think we have tremendous opportunities across the country.”

“I think we’re going to pick up seats. I think it’s very clear that a lot of constituents across the country have buyer’s remorse from the tea party, Republicans that they elected in 2010. The Republican Party has essentially voted in lock step to shut the government down, to follow Ted Cruz and the tea party off the cliff and take the country with it.”

“…I mean, sadly, the Republicans who actually used to be willing to do that are retiring because they are frustrated. The Republican party is in a civil war. They are in a battle for what direction their own party will go in. And they’re beating the heck out of one another. It’s very hard for any of them to focus on working across the aisle.”