Let's Kick Debbie Wasserman Schultz Around One More Time, For Old Time's Sake

Both screencaps are from teevee shows starting with 'State of...' Isn't that something?

Oh, goody! Just in time for the start of the Democratic National Convention Monday night, a chance for some "Dems In Disarray" headlines, as Debbie Wasserman Schultz is resigning as party chair after Wikileaks leaked about a million emails showing -- to everyone's enormous surprise -- that the Democratic National Committee was in the tank for Hillary Clinton all along. Pandemonium! Chaos in the Streets! Rigged System! Oh, and maybe Russian hackers, too, because clearly this election year hasn't been nearly surreal enough.

Frankly, Yr Wonktte has never been a big fan of Wasserman Schultz, and we would just like to remind y'all of the times we have called her an asshole, like when she gutted regulations on payday lenders and was against medical marijuana even for your sick mother (to be accurate, we called her a "shithead" that time). So, good riddance, and now maybe she can lose her congressional seat to the Hot Guy Bernie endorsed, too. Disliking DWS is one thing that has brought Bernie and Hillary supporters together.

Of course, what it also means is that as the Democratic Convention gets underway, the Bernie Or Bust kids are going to make as much noise as they can -- they did so at the Florida delegation breakfast Monday morning, loudly! -- about wanting a do-over of the primaries, or at least a riot at the convention, because that will finally ensure Bernie gets the nomination he didn't quite win, but deserves for being so sincere. For what it's worth, Bernie Sanders himself, who is much more of a grownup than many of his most ardent/deranged backers, is talking "party unity," not "Bern it to the ground." In a statement, Sanders called for moving forward with less fuckery of the sort that Wasserman Schultz brought to the the 2016 primaries:

Debbie Wasserman Schultz has made the right decision for the future of the Democratic Party ... While she deserves thanks for her years of service, the party now needs new leadership that will open the doors of the party and welcome in working people and young people. The party leadership must also always remain impartial in the presidential nominating process, something which did not occur in the 2016 race.

This is where we should note that Sanders very explicitly did not say, "Now you have to give me the nomination." He also did not un-dorse Hillary Clinton, although we're certain we'll hear from plenty of folks who are sure he was blinking that out in Morse code. But what does he know? He's the progressive Kwisatz Haderach whether he likes it or not.

The New York Times   reports the Clinton campaign played a key role in very gently signaling to Wasserman Schultz that they'd appreciate it very much if she would please kick herself to the curb:

Mrs. Clinton’s campaign handled the situation delicately, not wanting the chairwoman to feel intense pressure and dig in. The Clinton aides told Ms. Wasserman Schultz the choice to resign was hers to make, but they gently warned her that she would face jeers from Mr. Sanders’s supporters this week in the convention hall, said the adviser to Ms. Wasserman Schultz, who requested anonymity to discuss private deliberations.

The nudge was enough to force Ms. Wasserman Schultz’s hand.

So, hand forced, Wasserman Schultz out, and the DNC will now be led until the election by DNC vice chair Donna Brazile, who we've always kind of liked, especially given her reaction to the leaked DNC emails. Sunday, before she was named as interim DNC chair, Brazile said on ABC's "This Week,"

I went over yesterday to see the Sanders campaign [and] I apologized ... I think, the allegations, the e-mails, the insensitivity, the stupidity needs to be addressed.

Why, yes, that would be a really good thing to do.

In the meantime, the Republican Nominee for Tinpot Dictator had some "thoughts" on the matter, which ought to do oodles for Democratic unity:

Now that the Dems appear to have gotten their pre-convention stumbles taken care of, everything should be just peachy, we typed with gritted teeth.

[ NYT / NYT / Mediaite ]