CONGRESSWOMAN DEBBIE WASSERMAN SCHULTZ’S time as head of the Democratic National Committee continues to attract criticism today.

But ex-DNC chair isn’t seen as vulnerable in ’18 election

Congresswoman Debbie Wasserman Schultz’s time leading the Democratic National Committee is looking less like the opportunity of a lifetime — and more like an albatross.

She’s been cast as a central villain in a new book in which her successor as party chairwoman, Donna Brazile, attempts to shift much of the blame for Democratic election losses to others.

She was questioned this year about party funding of opposition research about Donald Trump that ended up in a controversial dossier claiming ties between the Republican presidential candidate and Russia. She told the Senate Intelligence Committee staff that she knew nothing about DNC funding for the dossier.

On the eve of the party’s 2016 presidential convention, she was forced to resign from the post after hacked emails revealed party staffers had favored Hillary Clinton over Bernie Sanders during the primaries.

Political opponents from the left and right continue to use her time at the national party as fodder for their attempts to oust her from the from the congressional seat she first won in 2004.

“She would have been better off not taking that position,” said Marty Ireland, a longtime Democratic Party activist. Ireland is a Wasserman Schultz loyalist — “she’s my congresswoman and I believe in her” — but said the long-lasting political hangover is painful to watch.

When President Barack Obama picked the Broward/ Miami-Dade County congresswoman to take over the party, it seemed like it might be a stepping stone that could lead to higher office or a spot in congressional leadership. Wasserman Schultz was a constant presence on television and traveled the country advocating for her president and party.

In hindsight, said Blake MacDiarmid, a South Florida Republican strategist, serving as party chairwoman from May 2011 until July 2016 didn’t help Wasserman Schultz.

“Looking at the facts now and the record, she probably would have had a much longer career in politics had she not been the DNC chair,” he said. “You pick up a lot of negatives being a party leader.”

Brazile book

The newest controversy stems from Brazile’s book, “Hacks: The Inside Story of the Break-ins and Breakdowns That Put Donald Trump in the White House,” published last week. It contains dozens of references — seven in just the first two pages — to “Debbie.” Most are critical.

Brazile heaps much of the blame for the party’s declining fortunes during the Obama years — losses at the congressional level, in governor’s offices and state legislatures — on Wasserman Schultz.

Describing the mood as the party convention began in July

2016, when Wasserman Schultz had resigned and Brazile about to replace her, she wrote that “it pained me to hear her critics talk about her behind her back. I was even more pained when I joined in that chorus.”

Brazile then went on to assert that Wasserman Schultz was a bad manager, had few friends and was hated by some, and didn’t consult with other Democrats. “She seemed to make decisions on her own and let us know at the last minute what she had decided,” Brazile said, adding that Wasserman Schultz had “outsourced a lot of the management of the party and had not been the greatest at fundraising.”

The author said Wasserman Schultz “liked the power and perks of being a chair but not the responsibilities.”

Brazile scorned what she labeled perks provided to Wasserman Schultz: a sport-utility vehicle and driver, a chief of staff and an assistant, and a body woman — a staffer assigned to accompany the party chairwoman out of the office on party business to carry personal effects and do things like take notes and collect contact information. And she wrote critically of “Debbie’s big office” at DNC headquarters — including the “Florida pink” Wasserman Schultz had chosen for the walls.

Reaction and response

Friends and foes of Wasserman Schultz have suggested Brazile’s book was written and marketed

in a way to maximize attention and sales — and not necessarily to provide an full account of reality.

“Everybody who writes a book likes to make a profit,” said Mitch Ceasar, former chairman of the Broward Democratic Party who spent 10 years representing 13 southern states on the Democratic National Committee’s executive board.

Ben Pollara, a South Florida Democratic political strategist who has often been critical of Wasserman Schultz, said his understanding of Brazile’s account is the “same old kind of retread on Debbie.”

Pollara said he has no interest in buying or reading the book, which also criticizes the Clinton campaign. “She’s trying to sell books,” he said.

Republican MacDiarmid isn’t a fan of Wasserman Schultz, but he said the leader of a party with the president in the White House isn’t an independent operator; the president’s people call many of the shots.

“Wasserman Schultz made a lot of mistakes, but ultimately it’s the person in the White House and the person at the top of the ticket that drives these wins and losses. She’s an easy scapegoat,” he said.

The congresswoman isn’t talking about the book. During a news conference this week, Wasserman Schultz repeatedly avoided answering questions about it.

“I am focused on doing the best job that I can to represent my constituents here in Florida’s 23rd Congressional District,” she said. “My focus, which is what my constituents elected me to do, is to make sure that I can fight for the

things they care about.”

Party activist Ireland said he wishes Wasserman Schultz would “fight back a little bit” but understands why she isn’t. “That’s not Debbie’s way of doing things.”

Political fallout

As Wasserman Schultz runs for an eighth term, challengers are using her DNC leadership as a cudgel against her. Carlos Reyes, one of three Republicans seeking his party’s nomination to challenge Wasserman Schultz next year, called her “the swamp queen” in a fundraising email citing the Brazile book and accusing her her of “dereliction of duty.”

A fundraising pitch from Tim Canova, who challenged Wasserman Schultz in the 2016 Democratic congressional primary and is running again, said Brazile’s book “confirms everything I have been saying for the past two years, that as long as Debbie Wasserman Schultz is in public life, the Democratic Party will continue its decline.”

Pollara said continuing attention to the DNC would “absolutely not” have any effect on Wasserman Schultz’s re-election in the Broward/Miami-Dade County district that is overwhelmingly Democratic.

If she was ever going to be vulnerable, he said, it would have been in last year’s primary. Sanders supporters were angry at her and helped fuel the Canova primary challenge with volunteers and money.

And Wasserman Schultz won the 2016 primary with 57 percent of the vote and the general election, also with 57 percent of the vote.