The low-down on Wasserman-Schultz

(WMR)—A number of residents of Representative Debbie Wasserman-Schultz’s 23rd congressional district in Florida are surprised that she still has her job as chair of the Democratic National Committee, especially considering the drubbing the party took at the polls on Election Day. However, given her cult-like following among her fellow New York Jewish transplants who largely make up the electorate in the densely-populated strip from Miami Beach to Fort Lauderdale, her political currency, not to mention her survivability as DNC chairwoman, come as no surprise.

WMR recently paid a visit to the 23rd district where we learned that Wasserman-Schultz is only known for a few things: her commitment to breast cancer awareness of a disease that particularly plagues women of Ashkenazi Jewish descent and her brash campaign tactics. Wasserman-Schultz’s opponents in the district are frankly surprised how a member of congress who is only known for promoting breast cancer research can keep her seat as DNC chair. However, Wasserman-Schultz is President Obama’s insurance policy within the influential Jewish community, which still votes primarily Democratic.

Wasserman-Schultz’s critics see her as a self-serving egotist who, during a campaign rally on October 31, 2012, ran into traffic at a polling place in Aventura, an upscale largely Jewish community between Miami Beach and Fort Lauderdale and attempted to have motorists stop at the early polling location to vote for her. A police officer attempted to have Wasserman-Schultz return to the sidewalk in order that she not impede the flow of traffic, but the congresswoman began cursing at the cop, letting him know who she was and what she could do to him. Later, the mayor of Aventura, Susan Gottlieb, showed up at the scene to try to get Wasserman-Schultz to calm down and get off the street. Wasserman-Schultz then proceeded to “pull rank” on the mayor, giving her a piece of her mind.

Wasserman-Schultz also attempted to have the DNC pay for her new clothes she bought for the Democratic National Convention in Charlotte in 2012. Her other notoriety comes from co-sponsoring a bill with Senator Arlen Specter to have every May declared Jewish American Heritage Month. The bill, signed by President George W. Bush, calls for Jewish history to be taught in every school. The bill was criticized from many quarters for blurring the separation between religion and state. Wasserman-Schultz also went on a tirade about a photograph of a U.S. flag and a cross a federal government worker displayed at her workstation. Wasserman-Schultz is also known for frequent absenteeism in the House where she missed a number of votes.

Also absentee from the United States are some of Wasserman-Schultz’s financial portfolios. Her financial disclosure forms lists the Davis Financial Group retirement fund, which invested in the Julius Baer Bank in Switzerland and the State Bank of India, as well as the Fidelity Advisor Overseas Fund, which holds investments in HSBC Bank, Volkswagen, a Danish pharmaceutical firm, a Hong Kong watch factory, and a Japanese shipping company.

One local politician, who switched from Democratic to Republican because of Wasserman-Schultz, explained that the congresswoman has built up a following of diehard supporters, especially among Jewish women who, like Wasserman-Schultz, are natives of New York. Although, Wasserman-Schultz had a double mastectomy, one medical professional in the district, who is Jewish, claimed that such radical surgery was not actually needed but that the congresswoman underwent the procedure so that she could enhance her breast cancer “survivor” status with her political base.

Previously published in the Wayne Madsen Report.

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Wayne Madsen is a Washington, DC-based investigative journalist and nationally-distributed columnist. He is the editor and publisher of the Wayne Madsen Report (subscription required).