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Debbie Wasserman Shultz, DNC Chair, Targeted By Dem Group For Wall Street Ties
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Candidate
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| Contributor | Craverguy |
| Last Edited | Craverguy May 06, 2011 12:12am |
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| Category | News |
| Author | Ryan Grim and Zach Carter |
| Media | Website - Huffington Post |
| News Date | Thursday, May 5, 2011 11:00:00 PM UTC0:0 |
| Description | WASHINGTON -- The escalating lobbying blitz surrounding debit card swipe fees has now pitted a prominent Democratic messaging organization against the newly elected chair of the Democratic National Committee.
New ads launched as part of a million-dollar campaign funded by merchants opposed to high swipe fees criticize Rep. Debbie Wasserman Schultz's (D-Fla.) efforts to delay new rules which would lower such fees. Similar ads target Sen. Jon Tester (D-Mont.) and a host of congressional Republicans.
It is extremely rare for a Beltway-based progressive advocacy group to directly target the DNC chair, the formal head of the Democratic Party. Such infighting exposes a deepening schism between Democrats who hope to pull the party away from Wall Street and the party establishment, which still relies on the financial sector for campaign funds.
Democratic insiders said Wasserman Schultz's ability to raise money was a major factor in her elevation to the role of DNC chair, a post she was officially elected to Wednesday. A prolific fundraiser, Wasserman Schultz counts Wall Street among her most generous donors. Throughout her congressional career, she has raised over $945,756 from the finance, insurance and real estate industries, second only to the $956,800 she has raised from labor unions, according to data from the Center for Responsive Politics. In recent years, FIRE industries accounted for more of the DNC chair's campaign contributions than any other donor category for both the 2008 and 2010 elections.
And such firms have billions at stake in the swipe fee battle. Banks charge retailers swipe fees -- also known as "interchange" fees -- every time a customer pays for something with plastic. Stores pass some of these higher fees on to consumers wherever they can, in the form of higher prices for just about anything money can buy. |
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