http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/post-partisan/wp/2015/08/31/the-insiders-watching-debbie-wasserman-schultz-grovel-is-painful/ By Ed Rogers August 31 at 4:54 PM
Rep. Debbie Wasserman Schultz (D-Fla.), the current chair of the Democratic National Committee, unilaterally decided that the Democratic presidential candidates will only have four primary debates, and now some of the Democratic candidates are pushing back. Last week, Martin O’Malley sharply criticized the decision, calling it a “rigged process.” And Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) said yesterday on CNN’s “State of the Union” that he thinks the idea of limiting the debates “is dead wrong” and that he had “let the leadership of the Democrats know that.” So why is Rep. Wasserman Schultz refusing to budge, even as she is being publicly taken to task? If there was ever a year where “rigging” the process could backfire, 2016 could be it.
This is Washington machine politics at its best — or maybe its worst. In a year when others are struggling to distance themselves from Washington and politics as usual, Team Clinton is doing what they do best and engaging in blatant, self-serving manipulation. Rep. Wasserman Schultz’s desire to hang onto some semblance of power is well-known, and it’s almost embarrassing. She was mostly disowned by the Obama White House a long time ago. She was never a Clinton favorite either, but her desperation to continue her vanity project as DNC chair has given the Clinton Empire the opening to manipulate her by having fewer debates.
In Washington, watching the doomed grovel is a spectator sport. Even a confirmed cynic might feel a pang of pity. But what choice does Chairwoman Wasserman Schultz have? If she has any chance of being thrown a bone by the Clinton Empire, she has to do its bidding. And for Hillary Clinton, rigging the deal — explicitly or otherwise — is certainly more appealing than going through a competitive process and taking the risks associated with unscripted events. Heaven forbid.
As I’ve written before, the Clinton campaign is one that has to avoid crowds and the media, and the latter obviously includes live debates with opponents. Letting Chairwoman Wasserman Schultz prove her loyalty as a fixer is consistent with the predictable Clintonian modus operandi, even if it is misguided.
The Clinton machine’s manipulation of the DNC chair is impressive on one level, but in this election, it just may not be worth the trouble.
