U.S. Rep. Debbie Wasserman Schultz, D-Fla., started the new year by drawing fire from the left as liberal activists are calling for her ouster as chairwoman of the Democratic National Committee (DNC).
More than 23,000 Americans have signed a petition from RootsAction.org demanding the DNC remove Wasserman Schultz, insisting she is not neutral in the presidential race and accusing of her limiting the number of debates to help her old ally former U.S. Sec. of State Hillary Clinton.
RootsAction.org is a liberal group which has the won the applause of former U.S. Sen. James Abourezk, D-SD, Daniel Ellsberg, Jim Hightower, Namoi Klien and Cornel West. The group noted all those signatures were gathered since the start of the new year.
The group showcased its opposition to Wasserman Schultz on Tuesday.
"The head of one of the two big political parties in the United States is trying to manipulate the presidential election process by limiting direct debate and tilting the national party apparatus in favor of one candidate," said Normon Solomon who helped cofound RootsAction.org. “This is unacceptable.”
"The results, thus far, have been bad from the perspective of Wasserman Schultz's own party, including domination of the media's extensive election coverage by the other big party,” said Jeff Cohen, another cofounder of the group. “Another result has been reduced exposure for the Democratic candidate polling strongest against Republican rivals, Bernie Sanders.”
Sanders and former Gov. Martin O’Malley, D-Mary., who are also running against Clinton in the Democratic primaries, have also been critical of Wasserman Schultz’s handling of the DNC. During the 2008 presidential cycle, Wasserman Schultz was a key ally of Clinton’s.
Last month, appearing on CNN, Wasserman Schultz insisted the candidates had opportunities to make their cases through forums hosted by the DNC as well as the six debates.
“Are you adding any more Democratic presidential debates, or are the limited number you have now, is that set in concrete?” Wolf Blitzer from CNN asked her.
“We have a combination of candidate forums and debates, and we are continuing to add candidate forums to our schedule, and we have our six debates that are scheduled already,” Wasserman Schultz replied.
“So no more debates but just candidate forums, where individuals are interviewed one-on-one, but there’s no real debate between the candidates,” Blitzer said. “So you’re going to stick with that format?”
“We’re giving them a variety of opportunities to see our candidates while preserving their ability to be out on the campaign trail, so that they can get up close and personal with voters,” Wasserman Schultz insisted.
Reach Kevin Derby at kderby@sunshinestatenews.com or follow him on Twitter: @KevinDerbySSN
