DNC Chair Wasserman Schultz Dodges Obama's Name

Democratic National Committee Chairman Debbie Wasserman Schultz joined the list of Democrats dodging President Barack Obama by not using his name when asked about the president's policies.

Wasserman Schultz sidestepped questions on MSNBC's "Morning Joe" about whether a vote for Democrats in the 2014 midterm elections was a vote for Obama's policies, referring instead to particular Democratic initiatives, such as increasing the minimum wage and strengthening the economy.

After repeated questions by host Joe Scarborough, a former Republican Florida congressman, about whether a vote for Democrats was a vote for Obama's policies, Wasserman Schultz instead pivoted away from the president.

"If you vote for Democrats, you are voting for candidates who are focused on creating jobs, getting the economy turned around, and continuing to move us forward, creating more opportunities for people to succeed," the Florida Democratic congresswoman said Wednesday.

Numerous Democrats have refrained from tying themselves to Obama, including Democratic candidates for the Senate Alison Lundergan Grimes in Kentucky, Natalie Tennant in West Virginia, and Michelle Nunn in Georgia.

Despite the distance some Democrats were seeking from Obama, the president maintained in a radio interview Monday that Democratic candidates running for office were "folks who vote with me" and were "strong allies and supporters of me."

Wasserman Schultz sought to contrast Democrats with the GOP, saying a vote for Republicans was a vote "for someone who has embraced the tea party agenda, who would double down on obstruction, and who would stop us from moving forward."

Wasserman Schultz only called Obama by name once, opting instead to refer to him as "he," "his," or "the president" in the interview, and credited "extreme" Republicans for why there were "still competitive races all over the country and Democrats well positioned — for governors, for the House, and the Senate."

"Barack Obama was on the ballot in 2012 and 2008. The candidates that are on the ballot are Democratic and Republican candidates for Congress, for the U.S. Senate, and governors across the country," she said.

Scarborough commented after the interview that if someone had asked him if he had been running for Congress in 1986 whether a vote for him was a "continuation of [former President] Ronald Reagan's policy," he would have heartily said it was.

"I'd say, 'Yep. You know, I don't agree with him 100 percent of the time. But, you're darned right. I am a Reagan Republican, and I'm going to push that agenda," he said.

Scarborough questioned why Democratic candidates couldn't say, "Yes, Barack Obama has done a great job for six years, and I look forward to being his partner another two years."

"It is so ridiculous that you have people that voted with the president 95, 96, 97, 98 percent of the time who can't say his name. It's like, 'You send me up there, I'm going to be a pain in his back side.' It's a joke. It's a clown show," Scarborough said.


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