Media

Dem strategist Schoen: ‘Democratic Party itself rots from the head down’

by Joe Concha - 11/09/17 12:01 PM ET

Democratic strategist and former Clinton pollster Doug Schoen said “the Democratic Party itself rots from the head down” in response to allegations by former Democratic National Committee Chair Donna Brazile of the party nomination being rigged in 2016.

Schoen, a longtime critic of the Democratic Party, was asked by Fox News “America’s Newsroom” anchor Bill Hemmer if Brazile appeared to be backtracking around passing along debate questions to the Clinton campaign last year while she was a contributor at CNN.

{mosads}In an interview with Fox’s Tucker Carlson Wednesday night, Brazile claimed to have passed on “things” to Clinton competitors Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) and former Gov. Martin O’Malley (D-Md.) during the primary as well.

“I don’t know what to believe,” Schoen, a network contributor, said Thursday morning. “I do know that the Democratic Party itself rots from the head down.”

“I mean, they won a big victory,” he continued. “It was in large part a repudiation Tuesday of Donald Trump. But for today let’s be clear: Hillary Clinton, according to Donna Brazile, tried to rig the nomination financially and in terms of message. Donna Brazile has acknowledged giving debate questions. Last night she was saying she was leaking inappropriately, apparently, to Bernie Sanders and to Martin O’Malley.”

“And then you’ve got Bernie Sanders who had quit the primaries before California and was negotiating for speaking fees and airline seats,” Schoen concluded. “So I’m really disgusted and I think you got to clear them all out.”

Schoen served as President Clinton’s pollster in 1996 and also worked on Hillary Clinton’s 2008 presidential campaign.

On Wednesday night, Carlson pressed Brazile around her role in passing along town hall debate questions to the Clinton campaign on two occasions during the primary season, as revealed by WikiLeaks email dumps in 2016 shortly before the election.

“Tucker, WikiLeaks sought to divide us. These were active measures where you got to see the things I gave to Hillary; you never got a chance to see the things I gave to Bernie or Martin O’Malley,” Brazile told Carlson.

“You know what, I’m totally happy, you bring those and I will put them on the show anytime,” Carlson replied.

“What I sought to do, Tucker, was to ensure that we had these issues on the table, and I made sure that our candidates — I didn’t want them blindsided,” Brazile added later in the interview. “That’s what I admitted to.”

“That’s the greatest spin I’ve ever heard. ‘I didn’t want them blindsided.’ That’s so good. You should do this for a living! That is hilarious,” Carlson said, laughing.

Brazile’s book, “Hacks: The Inside Story of the Break-ins and Breakdowns that Put Donald Trump in the White House,” was released on Nov. 7.