In Las Vegas, DNC chief blames Republicans for gridlock
Visiting Las Vegas on Monday, U.S. Rep. Debbie Wasserman Schultz, chair of the Democratic National Committee, defended Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid’s leadership, saying Republicans deserve all the blame for gridlock in Congress.
“Right now the Republicans’ reason for existence appears to be to block anything that President (Barack) Obama proposes, to stop progress, to refuse to work together,” Wasserman Schultz, D-Fla., said at a news conference. “The ‘my way or the highway’ way of politics that they are committed to is stunning.”
The DNC boss’ comments came in response to a question about whether Democrats and Reid, D-Nev., share the blame for little getting done in the past few months with midterm elections set for Nov. 4. A Washington Post story over the weekend quoted frustrated Democrats saying the war between Reid and Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., has almost immobilized the Senate.
Wasserman Schultz, however, placed the blame squarely on the GOP, particularly in the Republican-run House where she said tea party-aligned members have blocked legislation, and Speaker John Boehner, R-Ohio, has refused to bring up proposed legislation such as immigration reform unless a majority of Republicans agree.
Wasserman Schultz also weighed in on the upcoming 2016 presidential election, saying the party isn’t threatened by a competitive primary as several liberal candidates are talked up as possible opponents of former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, the early front-runner and seen as a centrist. Clinton has not yet announced whether she will run for president but has taken some hits while promoting her book, “Hard Choices.”
Meanwhile, U.S. Sen. Elizabeth Warren, D-Mass., is getting rave reviews at forums such as the Netroots conference of liberals last week. Warren has sad she has no plans to run for president in 2016.
Vice President Joe Biden, a popular firebrand, hasn’t quite ruled out a run for president. Biden is scheduled to be in Las Vegas on Wednesday to address the NAACP convention at Mandalay Bay.
Wasserman Schultz, asked whether it was healthy for the party to have challenges from the left to Clinton, said she welcomed competition.
“Of course it is because it’s not a challenge,” she said. “We are a big-tent party. We have a vibrant and robust group of Democrats on the left. We have a vibrant, robust group of Democrats that are centrists. And we even have (conservative) Blue Dogs who are a solid part of our party. And so we don’t have a litmus test.”
“We are come one, come all,” she added. “The Republicans, on the other hand, (are) adherent to tea party extremism and litmus-test politics. That means they have an ever-shrinking group of supporters.”
Wasserman Schultz also addressed politics in the Silver State.
In Nevada, there’s no strong Democratic challenger to GOP Gov. Brian Sandoval, who is expected to win re-election easily in November. Sandoval’s Democratic foe is Bob Goodman, who came in second to “none” in the June 10 primary.
Wasserman Schultz said she wasn’t worried that the party didn’t find a strong candidate to go up against Sandoval. Instead, she said the Democratic ticket is strong for other state offices, including promoting young female candidates such as Assemblywoman Lucy Flores, D-Las Vegas, for lieutenant governor, and Erin Bilbray for Congress.
She said the state party has proven itself formidable, including in 2010 when Reid won re-election in what was supposed to be a tough race.
“The strength of the (Nevada) Democratic Party is admirable,” she said. “This is a party that has been incredibly successful.”
Wasserman Schultz was in Las Vegas to speak to the NAACP and to tout several Democratic candidates, including Flores, Bilbray and U.S. Rep. Dina Titus, D-Nev., who is running for re-election. The DNC chief said the female vote in Nevada could decide some key races.
Wasserman Schultz and other national Democratic leaders have accused Republicans of waging a war on women for not backing equal pay, free birth control and Planned Parenthood because it offers advice on abortions. Democrats are hoping to increase the female vote in the Nov. 4 general election, in which turnout is expected to be low.
“We need to make sure we understand what’s at stake for women” and urge them to get out to vote in November, the DNC chair said.
The news conference came after Wasserman Schultz participated in a women’s round table at the Nevada Democratic Party headquarters that included Titus, Flores and Bilbray.
The Democratic Party is targeting Flores’ opponent, state Sen. Mark Hutchison, R-Las Vegas, who has Sandoval’s backing.
Democrats also are hoping to unseat U.S. Rep Joe Heck, R-Nev., who is running for a third two-year term in the 3rd Congressional District in Clark County, which includes Henderson and Boulder City. He’s considered the favorite against Bilbray, although the district is evenly split between Democrats and Republicans.
Wasserman Schultz planned to attend a Monday night fundraiser for Flores and a breakfast fundraiser for Bilbray this morning.
Contact Laura Myers at lmyers@reviewjournal.com or 702-387-2919. Find her on Twitter: @lmyerslvrj.