In a surprise move that caught the media by surprise, Democratic National Committee Chair Debbie Wasserman Schultz announced today that the DNC was canceling the six as yet unscheduled Democratic primary debates and appointing Hillary Clinton the party's nominee in the 2016 presidential election. "We thought long and hard about this," said Wasserman Schultz. "It was not a decision that was hastily arrived at."
Asked by reporters why the DNC had made this unprecedented move, Wasserman Schultz, who represents Florida's 23rd congressional district in the House, stated: "Secretary Clinton has a huge lead in the polls and is the presumptive nominee already, and the party needs to gear up for the general election, which is only fifteen months away. It would be a tremendous waste of money and resources were we to hold these debates, and it would take our focus off of the real objective, which is to keep the White House."
One reporter mentioned the huge momentum Senator Bernie Sanders is enjoying since entering the race, taking a commanding lead in New Hampshire and narrowing the gap between the two candidates nationally, and asked if this were the reason for the DNC's decision. Wasserman Schultz, who had previously served as Secretary Clinton's National Campaign Co-Chair in the 2008 Democratic primary campaign against Barack Obama, replied: "We certainly appreciate all that Senator Sanders has done to bring attention to the issues that Secretary Clinton supports. But we think we've been very fair to him in letting an Independent run as a candidate in our process. We fully expect that he and his supporters will bring all of that energy to helping Secretary Clinton win the general election. We would also hate to lose his presence in the Senate, where he has done such a fine job."
Photo: DNC Chair Debbie Wasserman Schultz
Photo: Former US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton gets a hug from DNC Chair Debbie Wasserman Schultz before speaking at the Democratic National Committee's Women's Leadership Forum, September 19, 2014 in Washington, DC.
Other members of the DNC were quick to concur with Wasserman Schultz, who is a longtime close friend of the Clintons. Henry R. Muñoz III, who serves as the Finance Chairman of the DNC, noted: "I feel so strongly that it is imperative Secretary Clinton be our nominee that, although I'm supposed to be impartial with regard to the nominees during the primary season, I attended the Clinton campaign kickoff breakfast in San Antonio and have been raising funds for her campaign. I am a person of the highest integrity, so you know how strongly I must feel about Hillary to shed my impartial status in order to ensure her nomination."
Photo: Henry R. Muñoz III, Finance Chairman of the DNC
Not all member of the DNC, however, were pleased by the decision. "This is supposed to be a fair and impartial process," claimed Honore D. Mocracy, "and the DNC has made a mockery of it. The registered Democratic voters are the ones who should get to decide their nominee, not Secretary Clinton's buddies." Another DNC member, Watt D. Helle, complained: "Hillary's pals saw what happened to Jeb Bush, the 'presumptive' Republican nominee, in the GOP debates and on the hustings. Jeb fell into single digits against a bunch of clowns, and they were not going to allow that to happen to Hillary. Debbie told us in a private meeting that she had let some unknown black guy come out of nowhere in 2008 to steal Hillary's nomination, and she'd be damned if she would let some Jewish guy do the same thing in 2016. She had already cut down the debates that enabled Barack Obama to beat Hillary in 2008, from 26 debates to 6. So this comes as no surprise to me. We've gone back to the days of the smoke-filled room. All that's missing are the cigars."
Wasserman Schultz made the announcement after returning from a birthday party honoring Bill Clinton on Tuesday. The former President turned 69.
Photo: Former President Bill Clinton