XPost: ba.politics, dc.media, soc.penpals   
   XPost: alt.burningman   
   From: thats@debbie.com   
      
   WASHINGTON — Many top Democrats are upset with Democratic   
   National Committee Chair Debbie Wasserman Schultz, apparently.   
   That’s the point of a big Politico piece this week that’s got   
   much of political DC buzzing.   
      
   The nut of their objections appears to be that the Florida   
   representative is trying to leverage her DNC spot to promote her   
   own political ambitions at the expense of the party’s fortunes   
   as a whole.   
      
   Politico quotes critics to the effect that Representative   
   Wasserman Schultz hits up donors for cash for her own PAC, as   
   opposed to pushing them to donate to party organs; plans her   
   travel schedule to promote her own priorities; and pushes DNC   
   staff to work on her own projects. She’s also tried – and failed   
   – to get the party to pay for her clothes, according to sources.   
      
   She’s also made some high-profile verbal gaffes, such as her   
   recent comparison of Republican tea party adherents to wife-   
   beaters.   
      
   “She’s become a liability to the DNC, and even to her own   
   prospects, critics say,” writes Politico’s Edward-Isaac Dovere.   
      
   Nor is Politico alone in dishing on Wasserman Schultz this week.   
   Buzzfeed has a similar story, though it’s not quite as harsh.   
      
   That means at least a few top Democrats really do have it out   
   for the DNC leader. Why are they so mad?   
      
   The first and most obvious explanation is that it’s all   
   completely true. We’re just talking hypothetically here – we   
   have no independent knowledge of these alleged shortcomings.   
      
   Sometimes frustration with a politician’s leadership grows so   
   acute among staff and contacts that they feel anonymous leaks   
   are their only weapon to deal with their boss.   
      
   But let’s face it – self-regard is as common in Washington as   
   smart phones. If you cleared Capitol Hill of every politician   
   guilty of overweening pride and too much focus on their own   
   problems then the halls of Congress would be empty.   
      
   Plus, last time we looked, Democratic Party fundraising was   
   going pretty well, and that’s a huge part of the DNC job. Karl   
   Rove complained about that just yesterday.   
      
   So a couple of other, more structural, things might be behind   
   the metaphorical knives in the Politico story.   
      
   Democrats might need a scapegoat for the drubbing they’re likely   
   going to get in the mid-terms. Chances are they will lose   
   control of the Senate, and they’ll almost certainly lose seats   
   in the House. By pointing their collective finger at Wasserman   
   Schultz the White House and other Democrats can claim it’s not   
   their fault.   
      
   Thinking about this has got some Republicans chuckling.   
      
   “Really shocking it took the WH this long to throw her under the   
   bus,” tweeted Dana Perino, former press secretary for President   
   George W. Bush, while linking to the Politico piece.   
      
   It’s also a time in the political cycle where any DNC chair   
   should probably start to think about when it’s time to resign.   
   Wasserman Schultz is in essence an Obama administration   
   appointee; yet President Obama’s influence in the party is   
   waning as the end of his time in office draws near.   
      
   As Philip Bump notes in The Fix blog at the Washington Post,   
   Wasserman Shultz has now served a bit longer than the average   
   tenure of all DNC chairs.   
      
   At the same time Hillary Clinton looks like a virtually certain   
   nominee for 2016, unless she decides to stop running. She and   
   her loyalists are looking to extend their own influence in the   
   party structure.   
      
   And as the Politico story notes, Wasserman Schultz and   
   Hillaryland are not exactly on the best of terms.   
      
   Maybe top Democrats have tried talking about this transition to   
   Wasserman Schultz, and she’s resisted. How to get her out? Leak   
   a negative story to the press – that’s as classic a Washington   
   power play as exists.   
      
   http://www.csmonitor.com/USA/DC-Decoder/Decoder-   
   Buzz/2014/0919/Why-are-Democrats-so-mad-at-DNC-chief-Debbie-   
   Wasserman-Schultz   
      
       
      
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