President Obama made a surprising choice to replace Tim Kaine as head of the Democratic National Committee, the governing body of the Democratic Party…Florida Congresswoman Debbie Wasserman-Schultz.
Wasserman Schultz was born in Queens and raised on Long Island (WOOT!) and represents Fort Lauderdale and its southwestern suburbs in Congress.
She rose into the Democratic leadership in recent years becoming Vice Chair of the DNC and a strong ally of President Obama in Congress.
Wasserman Schultz began her political career as an aide to her predecessor Pete Deutsch while she was getting a Master’s at the University of Florida. She was elected to the Florida legislature in 1993, serving in the House of Representatives until 2003, followed by one term in the Florida Senate. She won her first term in Congress defeating a radical religious zealot and ran unopposed in 2006. In 2008, she (secretly) battled breast cancer and underwent a double mastectomy all while campaigning first for Hillary Clinton and later for Barack Obama, including seconding his nomination at the 2008 Democratic National Convention in Denver.
Most celebrated the choice. Wasserman Schultz is not a “Blue Dog” or a “conservadam” (though a few commenters on FireDogLake called her a “sellout” for taking the position and one commenter on Balloon Juice made a bizarre statement saying Debbie isn’t a friend of the working class, which is laughable). Most, though, were very pleased with her appointment. An unapologetic progressive Democrat from a swing state, and a woman, only the third to ever run a major political party. She’s also a mother of three children, whom she raises with her husband Steve in Weston, Florida, where she made clear she will continue to live as DNC chair.
Wasserman Schultz became a key figure in the Democratic majority in 2009 and 2010, fighting for the party’s agenda. She once compared Republicans to bobblehead dolls because they never said “no” to oil companies.
Here she debates Paul Ryan, whose been getting a lot of oral pleasure from the media lately.
Here she goes toe to toe with California Republican Brian Bilbray on healthcare
On her first day as DNC chairwoman-designate, she takes the Republicans to task on the budget;
Who can forget her comments on Sarah Palin shorty after she was chosen as John McCain’s running mate;
“Quite honestly, the interview I saw and that Americans saw on Thursday and Friday was similar to when I didn’t read a book in high school and had to read the Cliff’s Notes and phone in my report,”
Wasserman Schultz also made news recently because of her close friendship with Rep. Gabrielle Giffords. After the shooting, Wasserman Schultz was one of the first people to publicly speak, often holding back tears.
She was in the room in January when Giffords opened her eyes for the first time.
I wonder what Giffords thinks about her friend now at the helm of her party?
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