Debbie Wasserman Schultz is head of the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee's program called Red to Blue. It is her job to concentrate on and help get Democrats elected.
She and her colleague in the Florida congressional delegation
refuse to campaign against Republican opponents in South Florida.This time around, Wasserman Schultz and Meek say their relationships with the Republican incumbents, Reps. Lincoln Diaz-Balart and his brother Mario, and Rep. Ileana Ros-Lehtinen, leave them little choice but to sit out the three races.
''At the end of the day, we need a member who isn't going to pull any punches, who isn't going to be hesitant,'' Wasserman Schultz said.
The decision comes as Democrats believe they have their best shot in years to defeat at least one of the Cuban-American incumbents with a roster of Democrats that include former Hialeah Mayor Raul Martinez, opposing Lincoln Diaz-Balart; outgoing Miami-Dade Democratic party chair Joe Garcia, opposing Mario Diaz-Balart; and businesswoman Annette Taddeo, opposing Ros-Lehtinen.
But Wasserman Schultz and Meek say their ties to the three Republicans are personal as well as professional: Both served in the state Legislature with Mario Diaz-Balart and say they work in concert with all three on South Florida issues.
The Diaz-Balarts and Ros-Lehtinen are among Florida's most right wing Republicans. Yet Wasserman Schultz and Meeks are refusing to campaign against them.
In discussion with a Florida blogger Debbie
makes a request. "I have read some of the bloggers' comments," she told me, imploring me to "please help get them off my back," as she seemed to be frustrated by the coverage she's received lately in the blogosphere.
She also said more to the blogger who unfortunately was impressed for a while. I think near the end of the post he was changing his mind. Florida bloggers are seldom very critical of Florida Democrats. Florida bloggers are often too impressed by access to Florida Democratic leaders. They need to stand off and be more objective.
Now, in 2008, she has had to deal with the "difficult position" of being in charge of the DCCC effort but also being friends with the three Republicans in Miami -- "I'm especially close to Mario Diaz-Balart," she said, "since our days in the state legislature, but I count all three of them as friends." And so, while the congresswoman believes the Democratic candidates in those districts -- Annette Taddeo, Joe Garcia, and Raul Martinez (for whom she said she actually has worked in his race against Lincoln Diaz-Balart) -- are strong, she "just can't cross that line personally" to campaign actively against her friends. It would be too hard to criticize them (I said, "well, don't criticize them, just say positive things about the Democratic candidates," and she replied, "I am!") publicly, and although she has disagreed with them on innumerable issues -- she shared an anecdote about trying valiantly but unsuccessfully to persuade Ros-Lehtinen to vote in favor of overriding Drunky McStagger's* veto of SCHIP -- she prefers to focus her attention on other House races and let other members of her coalition take on the three Miamians.
Markos is right on this one. He says if she can't bear to stand up to Republicans and campaign against them..
she should resign. Frustrated? On so many fronts, the Republicans are standing in the way of progress, on Iraq, SCHIP, health care, fiscal responsibility, corruption, civil liberties, and so on. Those three south Florida Republicans are part of that problem. And she's going to be "frustrated" that people demand she do her job?
Read that email I received again. The emailer can't get health insurance because of his sick child, and can only afford his child's care because of SCHIP. Meanwhile, his congressman is doing what he can do to sabotage that program. And Wasserman Schultz protects him. That's what frustration looks like.
She took on her job at the DCCC knowing it's a partisan position that entails targeting the districts of fellow colleagues. If she can't do that job, that's fine. Most of us won't hold that against her.
But she then needs to resign her position. She has no business holding that title if she cannot faithfully discharge its duties.
There is so much coziness among Florida Republicans and Florida Democrats. It leads to much trouble, and it has been known to cause serious problems.
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