Congratulations, Debbie!

I was thrilled to learn the news that President Obama has chosen my good friend, Congresswoman Debbie Wasserman Schultz, to be the next Chair of the Democratic National Committee.

Not only is Debbie a wonderful person and a strong progressive champion, but she has been such an advocate for women and a true mentor to me. It's so important for women who are interested in running for office to have role models and Debbie has served as that for me and so many new female members of Congress.

Debbie will be only the third woman ever to chair the DNC. It's so important that more women rise to positions of power so our points of view and our interests are front and center. As a young mother who ran for Congress and has risen up the ranks of the party, Debbie embodies that and I know the DNC will benefit greatly by having her as chair.

Debbie has spent 20 years of her life serving the people of Florida. Since 2004, she's represented Florida's 20th Congressional district with unparalleled passion, energy and conviction. Debbie truly sees her role as a public servant as a personal and moral commitment to making a difference for the families she represents.

She's done incredible things for her district, her state and this country as a whole and I can't wait to see what she will do for our party.

I hope you'll join me in wishing Debbie congratulations. Please sign the attached card and I'll make sure to get all your well wishes to her.

Thanks for sending your congratulations to Debbie! This is such an important time for Democrats and I can't think of anyone I'd rather have leading the charge.

 

Follow Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand on Twitter: www.twitter.com/SenGillibrand

Comments

[Master-T]

05:48 PM on 04/06/2011

"Not only is Debbie a wonderful person and a strong progressive champion ..."

Well, she may be a wonderful person but she's no champion of progressives. She's a loyal party member who toes the Democratic line 100%. Her comments on the abysmal HCR reflect that. The only person who would ever be selected as Chair of the Democratic National Committee would be a party loyalist, NOT a progressive champion. Considering this adminitration's dislike of progressives, please don't try to sell us this line about Wasserman Schultz being a "champion of progressives". We're not buying it.

(There I go again, being a whiny progressive ....)

[splinky]

04:34 PM on 04/06/2011

She lost me when she was on Olbermann last year before the midterm elections. The Republicans had just proposed or done something which could easily have been used by the Democrats to club them with (I've forgotten what it was now, maybe some anti-medicare stuff). So KO asked her, "are the Democrats going to use this to hammer the Republicans?"
She responded, "We're going to give the American people a choice..." so, basically, it was a long-winded way of saying "no."
Can't we have Dean back? Or someone else who's willing to be outspoken and call the Republicans on their [stuff], like Grayson or Weiner?