September 17, 2014

Democrats tire of Debbie Wasserman Schultz — especially her efforts to get them to pay for her clothes.

Politico reports.
Wasserman Schultz is a high-profile national figure who helped raise millions of dollars and served as a Democratic messenger to female voters during a presidential election in which Obama needed to exploit the gender gap to win, but November’s already difficult midterms are looming.

One example that sources point to as particularly troubling: Wasserman Schultz repeatedly trying to get the DNC to cover the costs of her wardrobe. In 2012, Wasserman Schultz attempted to get the DNC to pay for her clothing at the Democratic National Convention in Charlotte, multiple sources say, but was blocked by staff in the committee’s Capitol Hill headquarters and at President Barack Obama’s re-election campaign headquarters in Chicago.

She asked again around Obama’s inauguration in 2013, pushing so hard that Obama senior adviser — and one-time Wasserman Schultz booster — Valerie Jarrett had to call her directly to get her to stop....  One more time, according to independent sources with direct knowledge of the conversations, she tried again, asking for the DNC to buy clothing for the 2013 White House Correspondents’ Dinner.
Wasserman Schultz denies it. But what's going on here? Who are these sources that have it in for Debbie? She served their gender-based interests in 2012, and that's not the thing this year, so they launch a gender-based attack on her? It is a gender-based attack, don't you think? Is a woman behind this attack? The only name I see named is Valerie Jarrett. What's up with the Democratic Party? If you make women your stock in trade, you'd better watch out for women against women.

80 comments:

The Cracker Emcee Refulgent said...

Steak? Again?

Anonymous said...

Bewitched?

Mary Beth said...

I would hope that no one would seek that on my behalf, and I’m not aware that anyone did.

If the subject isn't dropped, a staff member will be blamed.

Zach said...

The search for scapegoats is starting early this year.

Notice how many of the quotes come from the Obama camp, pushing the messages "Debbie is the problem" and "Obama never liked her, anyway."

Quaestor said...

The problem is the Democrats hardly have a national personality who isn't a crashing bore. Notice today's Shylock controversy.

The most interesting thing to be seen here is how the MSM have treated DWS and her habitual outrages and distortions. They wouldn't give a Republican spokesman an even break, yet flat out propaganda that would have chagrined Joseph Goebbels is tolerated and even repeated by leading media personalities.

Zach said...

Interesting to read how badly Obama comes off in an article that obviously comes from the Obama camp:

Obama is snide:

Instead, the DNC chair stakes out the president of the United States at the end of photo lines at events and fundraisers.

“You need another picture, Debbie?” Obama tends to say, according to people who’ve been there for the encounters.


Obama doesn't care about details:

ccording to multiple people familiar with the president, Obama’s opinion of Wasserman Schultz was sealed back in 2011. Shortly after becoming chair, she pushed hard for a meeting with the president that she kicked off by complaining that she had been blocked from hiring the daughter of a donor — who’d been on staff in her congressional office — as a junior staffer to be the DNC’s Jewish community liaison.

Obama summed up his reaction to staff afterward: “Really?”


Obama neglects duties that benefit other people:

The decision to stick with Wasserman Schultz is, according to a person familiar with Obama’s thinking, part of his “benign neglect” of the DNC overall.

Obama is insecure and picks fights:

“Mr. President,” she said, according to people familiar with the encounter. “I just want you to know, the DNC has retired its debt.”

Obama looked at her.

“Debbie, you think I don’t know?” he said. “I’m the president of the United States.”

Will said...

Debbie Wasserman Schultz ran a DNC operation that defaulted on a $10million loan guarantee for the Democratic Charlotte Convention.

In addition to having to scale back ambitions (recall the excuses about big events Obama wanted to have at the NASCAR track and football stadium that were cancelled), Debbi's team mismanaged the event and it essentially went bankrupt.

In desperation, Dems leaned on companies they regulated, Duke Energy responded by signing a $10 million loan guarantee to help finance the convention.

The DNC defaulted on this loan within months.

Duke Energy then took a tax write-off for the full $10 million loss, arbitraging the tax code to lower the effective cost of its support. Essentially, the rest of us taxpayers picked up part of the cost of the Dem Charlotte Convention.

Putting aside the fact of whether Duke Energy executives exhibited proper fiduciary duty in loaning to an entity that defaulted within months, it is highly unlikely that all shareholders backed this partisan move, although the Duke Energy CEO did personally. Whether his personal political view justified the company losing $10 million on a bad debt is very very suspect.

Whether appropriate efforts were made by Duke to recover, or whether the IRS pushed Duke to prove they had tried to collect, is unclear. I am sure a debt collector would have bought that note from Duke Energy for 20 cents on the dollar and hounded Debbie mercilessly to make good… But then that would have looked bad for Obama and ValJar, wouldn't it? Not great optics during an election.

Needless to say, Obama's IRS did not ask any uncomfortable questions.. Lois Lerner was busy suppressing Obama opposition.

This incompetence shows a lot about Debbie Wasserman Schultz. It's a dubious crooked back-room deal that privatized gains and socialized losses and it stinks

George M. Spencer said...

"Obama and Wasserman Schultz have rarely even talked since 2011. They don’t meet about strategy or messaging. They don’t talk much on the phone."

Who does this guy talk to?

Bill said...

I'm angry that President Jarrett had to take time from her busy schedule for such nonsense.

FedkaTheConvict said...

LOL...remember when it was claimed that Sarah Palin wanted the RNC to pay for her wardrobe?

Michael K said...

I'm surprised she didn't ask the DNC to pay for orthodontia.

Richard Dolan said...

The same 'wardrobe' attack was directed against Palin when she was the VP nominee in 2008. IIRC, that was partly the Dems and partly some McCain campaign staffers who had it in for her.

Skeptical Voter said...

Well I'll be the first, but not the last to observe of Dem Ding Dong Ding Bat Debbie that you can't put lipstick on a pig, Debbie's persona is ugly clear to the bone.

Big Mike said...

What's up with the Democratic Party? If you make women your stock in trade, you'd better watch out for women against women.

If she'd stopped taking elocution lessons from Joe Biden she might have amounted to something. As it is, it seems as though she has the notion that each gaffe should be followed by an even bigger gaffe.

Freeman Hunt said...

I could see them paying for the clothes. It's their big show. Why shouldn't they shell out for the costumes?

Freeman Hunt said...

I was teaching a small class this morning, and before it started I said, "Let me put on my teacher costume," and I put on a pair of glasses. The students found this very amusing.

Humperdink said...

The only reason she lasted this long is the Democrat Senators like 'em plump (and apparently well dressed).

chuck said...

Ah, gotta love those sudden leaks about clothes. First chum the waters, then give them a kiss and walk them off the end of the plank.

Achilles said...

When parasites try to feed on each other entertainment ensues. She figures she got the american public to pay for her birth control and abortions. Why not get someone to pay for her clothes?

This is the mindset they are pushing on everyone. Who is surprised by this?

rcocean said...

If I was the RNC I'd pay for clothes - just to keep her in the position.

She's winning them votes.

rhhardin said...

A clothes-horse would be a good spokesman.

MadisonMan said...

Don't organizations pay for the wardrobes of their spokesmen? I thought they did.

Democrats seem petty in this story.

Freeman Hunt said...

Don't organizations pay for the wardrobes of their spokesmen? I thought they did.

Democrats seem petty in this story.


I agree.

aberman said...

Sexist attack, but frankly, the whole environment in which she operates seems very unseemly. This part really is the most interesting to me:
"Hurt feelings go back to spring 2008, when while serving as a co-chair of Hillary Clinton’s presidential campaign, Wasserman Schultz secretly reached out to the Obama campaign to pledge her support once the primary was over, sources say."

That's quite a claim, dontcha think?

Will Cate said...

The issues raised in this story may be petty, but the general complaint against DWS is not. She has become a liability to her party. She's safe in her tiny, shoestring district in south Florida, 'cause she's a good Jewish girl from New York. But everywhere else, she's a pariah.

aberman said...

And thinking about it, given her ties to Obama, perhaps it makes sense to view the troubles of Congresswoman Schultz in the context of the President's current troubles. Perhaps Ms. Schultz has lost her protectors as the entire Obama enterprise continues to fall into dysfunction.

Sam L. said...

Bad news for Debbie? I am sooooooooooo
bummed.

Hagar said...

To me Blabbermouth Schultz seems more than a little unhinged, and they ought to get rid of her, but this is not the way to do it.
However, you live by the sword, you die by the sword.

Bob Boyd said...

Maybe thinking is, if the emperor has no clothes why should his spokesperson?

bgates said...

“You need another picture, Debbie?” Obama tends to say....
Obama summed up his reaction to staff afterward: “Really?”


I am ashamed that I ever doubted Obama's reputation as the greatest orator in the history of verbal communication.

MadisonMan said...

Who buys Obama's suits, I wonder. Or Biden's? Who buys Boehner's?

J Lee said...

Someone's going under the bus after the November elections if 2014 turns out as badly as 2010 for the Democrats. The Politico article is merely prep work by others who have no plans to lie down in the road, even if they're the ones far more responsible for putting the Democrats in their current polling difficulties.

The Godfather said...

Joe Biden and Debbie Wasserman Schulz -- that really tells you all you need to know about the Obama Presidency. Remember all that stuff about how Obama would replicate Lincoln's "team of rivals"? Is that why we got the Treasury Secretary who failed to pay his taxes? Do the initials IRS, or VA ring a bell? The best argument against the expansion of government is THIS government. If the American people were too preoccupied two years ago to see that, perhaps they'll wake up before it's too late. Or perhaps we really are headed into the destiny of the world's largest failed state.

Nah! Ain't possible. Right?

rcocean said...

"Don't organizations pay for the wardrobes of their spokesmen? I thought they did."

Why would they? Most organizations expect you to buy your own clothes. Seriously, is she on welfare?

rcocean said...

The DNC should pay for a few good solid colored pant suits. And maybe some matching high heels, professional looking of course.

And who's paying for Gillibrand's clothes? Because she needs to turn it down and prude it up. She's obviously turning on the wrong sort of men.

NotWhoIUsedtoBe said...

I think it's reasonable to ask for a clothing allowance when your job is to be a talking head/hack for your party every day. I don't see the problem.

NotWhoIUsedtoBe said...

Remember Sarah Palin and her clothes at the RNC?

Anonymous said...

It's kind of hard to imagine the Obama inner-circle having to ostracize someone who'll do the loyal, dirty fellow traveler work, but I guess Debbie's negatives are high, and she may be finding out how this thing is gonna go down.

traditionalguy said...

Obama doesn't care about the last two years. He has set his traps and finished using Jews like Wasserman-Schultz.

The final two Obama years will be spent helping Iran complete the nuclear weapons aimed at the Jewish State. That will show the Jews just what Obama wants to see happen to the escapees from the Nazis.

jaliranchr said...

John Lynch has the same thought I do. Why did the huge kerfuffle about Sarah Palin's wardrobe come to mind?

Drago said...

broomhandle said...
Steak? Again?

Ted Kennedy's favorite "1%-er" lunch which he reportedly had very often was steak and lobster.

So, you know, he could really relate to the common man.

Not to mention the millions the Kennedy family made by using their influence to get the fed and state gov'ts to lease inflated price office space in Kennedy assets.

But it's cool since he was only directly, cowardly responsible for the death of one woman.

it almost goes without saying that he was the inevitable "heir" to the status of "the liberal lion of the senate".

Don't get me started on the millions (yes, Millions!) made via gov't influence for Franklin Raines, LBJ, Pelosi, Reid, et al.

Wasserman Schultz is such a piker by these standards that it's unbelievable.

Leave Debbie Wasserman Schultz alone you horrible DNC and obama admin democrats!!!

Jay Vogt said...

They'll regret showing her the door. Give the devil her due. She's talented: fearless, relentless and shameless.

"With a dozen like her and 400,000 gallons of gasoline I could take Berlin in 10 days"

Drago said...

bgates: "I am ashamed that I ever doubted Obama's reputation as the greatest orator in the history of verbal communication."

We should mail Cicero's hands to obama since he has finally exceeded Cicero's writing and oratory skills.

Drago said...

Jay Vogt: ""With a dozen like her and 400,000 gallons of gasoline I could take Berlin in 10 days"

Patton?

I get and agree with your point, but not with the comparison to "Blood and Guts".

Jay Vogt said...

. . . . . "Drago said...

Patton?

I get and agree with your point, but not with the comparison to "Blood and Guts"." . . .


- Patton? Yes.
- Compared not to Blood and Guts? No. I meant to compare her to a Sherman tank. I should have been clearer.

Anonymous said...

"Who are these sources that have it in for Debbie?"

And did they notice a Blue Fist poster hanging above her desk?

Wince said...

"Talk about massive potential for growth. She's the little acorn that becomes the oak!"

Spiros Pappas said...

Professional, at least successful, women seem to obsess over their clothing. And for good reason: in high stakes negotiations, just one mistake, any mistake, can be disastrous.

Obama, however, seemed oblivious to the sh*t storm his tan suit caused. You know who else is oblivious? Young women. Jeez, just about everything is on display. In the courtroom and in the classroom, some of these gals look strippers.

Anonymous said...

She is curly-haired and now white people aren't liking her: is she black now, people?

john marzan said...

i noticed that the clintons arent campaigning for democrats this year. is it because most democrat womem senatorial candidates and house candidates are still relying on old obama playbook on "war on women" and dont want clintons anywhere near them.

they (mostly redstate dems) also dont want obama campaigning, but for different reasons.

Original Mike said...

"But what's going on here?"

Something to do with a bus.

Drago said...

Jay Vogt: "- Compared not to Blood and Guts? No. I meant to compare her to a Sherman tank. I should have been clearer."

Point taken.

Drago said...

madisonfella: "And did they notice a Blue Fist poster hanging above her desk?"

And were they spat upon?

And called "n*****"?

And didn't pay their taxes for 10 years?

And had secret routers?

William said...

The recoil packs as much impact as the shot. The leaker looks just as petty as DWS.......Fortunately this story will be given a quick, dignified burial, and no one wil suffer lasting harm. Compare and contrast this with how the media handled the Palin story.

Anonymous said...

Do not question the Blue Fist Of Justice.

Carnifex said...

There is a slim minority of women who are smart and catch on to the verbal games Democrats play with their voting base. The rest of the women are like the professor.

Moose said...

Isnt this what got Palin in so much trouble?

richard mcenroe said...


"With a dozen like her and 400,000 gallons of gasoline I could take Berlin in 10 days"

With a dozen like her Patton would have wound up on the Cote d'Azur and had no idea where the gas went.

Darrell said...

Sarah Palin was fine with her own wardrobe--most of which she bought at a second-hand store in Alaska. McCain staffers insisted that her whole family be fitted with a few new outfits at a specially-arranged trip to Neiman Marcus for her RNC debut (and the media go-around after her selection.) None of the Palin family was particularly happy with this--they told them the stuff they had was fine and the whole process was kind of strange. The McCain staffers had hired a couple of stylists that were trying to push Sarah into clothing styles that she already knew didn't work for her (made her legs look shorter, etc.). They were insistent until Sarah put her foot down--and went to the racks and chose her own outfits. Btw, all the items they did choose were cheaper than the stuff the stylists chose. McCain staffers including Nicole Wallace--the new idiot they hired for The View--eventually leaked to the press the cost of the wardrobe (which probably included the bill for the useless stylists they chose) and that allowed Michelle Obama to say how she bought stuff from Land's End and other prole retailers. The crap with the wardrobe finally got the Palins to
say to the McCain people--just come pick up all the stuff. They did and put it into black Hefty bags. They then leaked that the Palins returned the fine clothes in trash bags. And now you know how Nicole Wallace got her job on The View.

Brando said...

I know if I were a DNC donor and put my hard earned money to try and help elect Democrats I'd be pretty pissed that an elite congresswoman was trying to use those donations to pay for expensive clothes that she doesn't need to do her job as party hack (a job she is doing incredibly poorly). Though I'm sure people wouldn't have such a problem with it if she were actually good at that job.

Howard Dean actually did pretty well as DNC head--under his watch they aimed to compete in red states as well as blue, and picked up enough seats in those states to take Congress with big margins in '06 and '08. DWS on the other hand seems to have one play in her book--claiming the GOP is trying to enslave women--and while this might play among the base is going to do all of nothing for the seats they need to win. Only GOP incompetence will save vulnerable Democrats this year.

Brando said...

I don't really see any of this (including the attacks on Palin when she was in "trouble" for similar clothes shenanigans) as "sexism". Remember John Edwards and his hair regimen? Any politician getting diva-like--male or female--is going to get reamed by the other side. Just because you're rich and elite and have access doesn't mean you can take advantage of that--not while you still need to appeal to the "working stiffs".

Vet66 said...

"Hell hath no fury..." and all that. Somebody created a haute couture monster who still feels entitled. Note to Wasserman; it's not about you, it's about the message. Know when to leave the stage.

sinz52 said...

"Remember all that stuff about how Obama would replicate Lincoln's 'team of rivals'? "

Sure. It's boilerplate, along with mom and apple pie and "America's Best Days Are Yet Ahead."

Every new Administration pledges to clean out the corruption and mismanagement of the previous administration and bring in a new, ethical, well-managed Administration.

And then the new Administration acts in the exact same way as the previous Administration.

Meet the new boss, same as the old boss.

To amuse yourself, take a look at all the campaign promises and pledges from past election campaigns:

http://www.4president.org/

lgv said...

Mary Beth said...
I would hope that no one would seek that on my behalf, and I’m not aware that anyone did.

If the subject isn't dropped, a staff member will be blamed.


They will admit they did it without DWS' knowledge and they will resign or be fired. They will then be hired onto the staff of a DWS ally.

That's the way it works.

Kirk Parker said...

Brando,

"Only GOP incompetence will save vulnerable Democrats this year."

In other words, these Democrats will do just fine.

Unknown said...

Wasserman for President. Be great if she beat Hill & Eliza Redfeather

Herb said...

so they had no issues with the comments she makes on tv that make her look crazy? No problem with the comments a few weeks ago about the Wis Gov has women by the back of the hair giving them the back of his hand?

MayBee said...

Why does Valerie Jarrett get so little attention. Especially compared to Karl Rove?

The woman vacations with Obama. Every time. Yet there aren't books about her, aren't long articles examining their relationship, are no expose's.

Very odd.

gerry said...

CAT FIGHT!!!!

phantommut said...

"My name is Debbie Wasserman Schultz, but you can call me Patsy."

Brando said...

In a related note, what is this with political officeholders also serving as party figures? That should be some conflict of interest. I get that they're partisan anyway, and all but represent their parties, but the role formally should at least be in the hands of a full time hack and not someone who is pretending to be serving general constituents in an elected office.

tim maguire said...

I don't see why it's a woman thing. The Clintons were the same way, trying to get reimbursed for every little expense.

It's fundamental to being a liberal, isn't it? Always trying to get someone else to pay for your stuff.

F said...

If DWS wants the Democrats to pay for her clothes, she should just show up at a party function without them.

Unknown said...

Answer: "The View"
Question: A program created to attract the lowest IQ.

PB said...

What? A woman has to pay for her own clothes? There truly must be a war on women.

Biff said...

It's almost as though the whole #waronwomen thing is nothing more than a cynical campaign stunt.

Brando said...

Re: "War on Women"--remember, a "war" means not extending the statute of limitations for sex discrimination claims and trying to prevent the government from requiring a private employer from paying for its employees' birth control.

"War" for purposes of ISIS does NOT include dropping bombs on an enemy and allying with ground forces to wipe out or "degrade" that enemy.

Unknown said...

For some reason I read

Biff said...
It's almost as though the whole #waronwomen thing is nothing more than a cynical shopping stunt.

Maybe I need a change of glasses.
..............

Blogger phantommut said...
"My name is Debbie Wasserman Schultz, but you can call me Patsy."

I didn't know about the "my name is adam but you can call me patsy" thing, but when I was in the Nav, boat in overhaul (not a military base-town) there was a girl named Patsy who frequented a local bar and had a goal to fellate every sub-sailor stationed at the yard. Memories.

Bruce Hayden said...

This was a hit job. Blabbermouth Shultz is out after the election. The loss of Senate seats is likely going to be blamed on her, even if the Dems manage to keep a majority by a seat or so.

The interesting question is whose people were behind it. My guess, right now, is Hillary!'s. Shultz turned on Clinton in the waning days of her 2008 campaign, and Hillary! doesn't forget, or really forgive. And, she probably needs a loyalist in that slot for the 2016 election (and Debbie turning on Clinton that time showed that she wasn't a loyalist). The problem is going to be finding a woman who is sufficiently loyal and has sufficient credentials and contacts. And, is probably Jewish (esp. since the Obama Administration, and many Dems, failed to adequately support Israel this summer).

Unknown said...

So this is what it's come to...a male Speaker who cries at the drop of a hat, and a female head of the rival political party who is a human pit bull. Great.