Cagle Post: The Democrats’ ‘Mouth of the South’

There is a golden rule in politics that says “do no harm” when you open your mouth. Since being officially elected as Chair of the Democrat National Committee (DNC) on May 4th, it appears Debbie Wasserman Schultz (DWS) may not be aware of this saying. Initially, the conventional wisdom on the left was that the outspoken Florida Congresswoman would be a solid pick to lead the DNC. Vice President Joe Biden wrote in an email to supporters that “President Obama expressed great admiration for her as a leader, and he was honored that she accepted this important challenge on behalf of the Democratic Party.” New York’s senior Senator Chuck Schumer went as far as to issue a statement warning that “the Republican presidential nominee will come to regret that Debbie was tapped for this job.”

After only a little more than a month on the job, President Obama must be doing a lot of second-guessing about his choice to put DWS in charge of the national Democrat party machine during his re-election campaign. Since her tenure began, DWS has proven to be a bona-fide gaffe machine while illustrating questionable judgment by making a wide range of foolish and otherwise false statements.

Two of the first lessons newly elected leaders of political parties are generally taught is to concentrate on raising money and to always stay on message. Many of the words DWS has chosen to date are well off the political reservation and have caused major blowback. Simply put, she has wandered off message. If President Obama’s goal is to keep independent voters in states like Colorado, Indiana, Nevada, North Carolina, and Virginia in his column, the inflammatory left-wing language coming from DWS is clearly not wooing the independent voters that will be vital for the 2012 election.

Read the full op-ed here