Democratic National Committee Chairwoman Debbie Wasserman Schultz has been unceremoniously dumped as permanent chairman of the Democratic National Convention.
She had already been removed as a convention speaker following the controversy over leaked emails that revealed how the DNC rigged the primaries to favor Hillary Clinton.
Democratic National Committee Chairwoman Debbie Wasserman Schultz will not preside over the party convention, officials decided Saturday, as they try to placate disgruntled delegates who believe the system was rigged in favor of Hillary Clinton.
Wasserman Schultz’s name appeared in emails leaked in recent days, and the unfolding narrative in those messages suggests the party was eager to eliminate Clinton’s Democratic opponent, Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt.
The emails have angered the liberal wing of the party, which had already been stewing over the superdelegate system that they believe gave Clinton an unfair advantage. Now they are threatening to hold large protests at the convention.
Wasserman Schultz had already lost a speaking slot at the convention and her removal from the presiding role is unprecedented.
According to CNN, the party’s rules committee, which met on Saturday, tapped Rep. Marcia Fudge, D-Ohio, to serve as the permanent chair of the convention.
Sanders has for weeks called on Wasserman Schultz to resign, and her support on Capitol Hill appeared less enthusiastic in recent weeks. Sanders repeated the demand on Sunday.
“I don’t’ think she is qualified to be the chair of the DNC,” Sanders said on CNN. “Not only for these awful emails which show the prejudice of the DNC, but also because we need a party to reach out to working people and young people and I don’t think her leadership style does that.”
Among the incriminating DNC emails leaked was one that appeared eager to depict Sanders as an atheist in order to make him less attractive to Southern voters. Another email suggested portraying the Sanders campaign as disorganized. Both were sent by senior Wasserman Schultz aides.
Because of her penchant for putting her foot in her mouth on a regular basis, Wasserman Schultz’s job has been in constant jeopardy. It’s hard to see how she can survive this latest blowup, especially since she’s gotten the party’s activist elite mad at her.
But you wouldn’t expect her to step down until after the November election. It certainly won’t happen at the convention, given the distraction it would cause.
Those emails revealed a Wasserman Schultz that’s petty, bossy, mean, and cynical. She will also stop at nothing to get her way. It’s doubtful that taking her off the convention program will satisfy any of her critics, who are growing in number following the leak of damaging DNC emails.
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