The liberal group Credo Action is demanding Democratic National Committee Chairwoman Debbie Wasserman Schultz resign a day after the Florida congresswoman accused millennials of “complacency” on abortion rights.
{mosads}In a petition sent to the 3.9 million progressive activists the group claims as members, Credo cited Schultz’s comments on abortion, which infuriated many liberals, as well as a litany of other offenses, in calling for her to be removed.
Credo also accused Schultz of “rigging the primary process to suppress Democratic turnout,” of “supporting warmongers by trying to undermine the president’s Iran deal,” and of courting special interest groups at odds with liberal values.
“As DNC chair, you have repeatedly failed to act in the best interests of progressives and the Democratic Party,” the petition reads. “You have lost the trust of grassroots progressives and Democrats. Please resign immediately.”
On Wednesday, Schultz said in an interview with The New York Times Magazine that women in their 20s and 30s are not committed to fighting for abortion right because their “entire lives have been lived after Roe v. Wade was decided.”
Many abortion rights activists took exception to the comments.
But the flap was just the latest controversy in what has been a tough cycle for the DNC chairwoman.
Schultz has been under fire for the Democratic presidential debate schedule, which has been pared back significantly, with many debates taking place on the weekend or near holidays.
Democratic presidential contenders Bernie Sanders and Martin O’Malley have accused the DNC of seeking to bury the debates to protect front-runner Hillary Clinton from scrutiny.
They have fumed over the missed opportunity to get their message out.
Accusations that Schultz and the DNC are in the tank for Clinton erupted again over how she handled the unauthorized use of a Clinton voter database by a Sanders staffer.
The DNC brought the hammer down on the Sanders campaign, resulting in a court battle between the two that still has not been resolved.
Furthermore, the DNC’s fundraising has been under scrutiny. The Republican National Committee has massively outraised the DNC this cycle and sits in a far better financial position.
“Chair Wasserman Schultz has repeatedly pursued her own agenda at the expense of the progressive base and basic principles of fairness,” the Credo petition reads. “That’s bad for progressive values and bad for the Democratic Party, and she must resign.”