WASHINGTON – Florida Congresswoman Debbie Wasserman Schultz, the current chair of the Democratic National Committee, is under fire from Bernie Sanders supporters who claim she’s tilted the Democratic primary in Hillary Clinton’s favor.
The Sanders wing of the party that includes liberal groups such as Credo, Moveon.org and RootsAction have posted online petitions calling for Wasserman Schultz to resign from the DNC. Thus far between the two websites the number of people wanting Wasserman Schultz gone is over 200,000 and growing.
The people calling for her resignation feel that the present DNC Chairwoman claim that she is biased towards Clinton and the superdelegate system has been rigged against Sanders. Over the weekend, the Vermont senator announced his endorsement of law professor Tim Canova, a longshot challenger for Wasserman Schultz’s congressional seat.
Sanders also said in an interview Sunday that if he’s elected president, she would not be reappointed as DNC chair.
High ranking members of the party and Clinton supporters are beginning to feel that if they dump Wasserman Shultz that Sanders would back off his attacks on Clinton. They also feel the move may help them in their quest to keep the Sanders votes in their camp in the general election.
According to The Hill, the Florida congresswoman, has shown no plans to leave her post as DNC chairwoman. Meanwhile, Senate sources stress that a final decision won’t be made until Clinton and Sanders negotiate some type of deal aimed at healing the party. President Obama, who selected Wasserman Schultz as chairwoman in 2011, is expected to play a major role in any such talks.
Lawmakers who have discussed the end of Wasserman Schultz’s tenure acknowledge the fate would be unfair because she’s worked hard to help the party. They also are quick to point out that Sanders has been a Democrat for only about a year. But they say the greater priority is to try to keep the liberals backing Sanders happy and that could mean the dismissing of Wasserman Shultz.
