The chairwoman of the Democratic National Committee, Debbie Wasserman Schultz, announced abruptly Sunday afternoon that she would step down at week’s end.
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She’s also highly skeptical of Trump, arguing that he benefited personally as a businessman from the economic and political systems he now decries as rigged. The Senator later spoke on ABC calling on Wasserman Schultz to resign. Reportedly, Bernie Sanders did better in “open primary” states where independents rather than Democratic party members alone were allowed to vote.
Her resignation came just as Sanders was preparing for a Monday speech in which he was expected to urge his loyalists to rally behind Clinton, the party’s presumptive presidential nominee, a task now made more hard by leaked e-mails showing supposedly neutral national Democrats discussing ways to undercut Sanders, including by questioning his religion.
The scandal is rocking the party on the eve of their convention, and the fall is a stunning one for the tough-talking Florida representative who became the first woman elected to chair the DNC. But even as they cheered news of her long lobbied-for departure, the broad coalition of protesters here pledged to keep up the heat on the Democratic establishment. From Sunday through Thursday, they will spend 14-hour days in FDR Park, Philadelphia’s designated protest hub, as part of the “Power Rally for Jill Stein for President”. “Yes, I would have”, he said. “I think [Sanders] has the right to be highly offended”.
A report says global mergers and acquisitions could drop by as much as $1.6 trillion over the next five years – unless Britain quickly agrees to exit the European Union but remain in the bloc’s common trade market. “He is a very nice guy”, Sanders said on NBC’s “Meet the Press”.
But the issue for Kansas Democrats appears more to be whether the Vermont senator’s backers embrace Clinton or stay home, rather than whether Trump can win them over.
“Going forward, the best way for me to accomplish [the goals of the Democratic party] is to step down as Party Chair at the end of this convention”, Wasserman Schultz said. “It’s just more of the same”, she said.
She also added that there needs to be accountability within the Democratic Party, that other top party officials should step down or be fired, as well, and be replaced with people who voice a commitment to neutrality and transparency.
“Late Show” host Stephen Colbert has brought his “Hunger Games” themed spoof about the presidential campaign to the Democratic National Convention.
“The thing that people are saying about voting for Hillary because we’ll get Trump – you know what?”
Clinton and President Barack Obama each released statements praising Wasserman Schultz’s leadership. Debbie Wasserman Schultz would preside over convention proceedings this week. Rep. Marcia Fudge, D-Ohio, will serve as permanent chair of the convention.
The general distaste that some Democrats had for Wasserman Schultz exploded on Friday, July 22. That event, too, was canceled.
According to the Observer, Wikileaks released thousands of emails sent by DNC staff between January 2015 and May 2016. Some of them showed party staffers suggesting an attack on Sanders based on his religious beliefs, and a plan to scuttle a previously agreed-to debate before the June 3 California primary because that was what Clinton’s team wanted. Sanders is not an atheist and still embraces his Jewish heritage. Brad Marshall, the DNC’s chief financial officer, apologized on Facebook on Saturday for an email in which he discussed how some voters in upcoming nominating contests in Kentucky and West Virginia would reject an atheist. “Does he believe in God”.
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“I will never give money the DNC money again”, said Rebecca Warring, visiting from Baltimore.
