Wasserman Schultz to Sanders: Dems are already a grassroots party

Rep. Debbie Wasserman Schultz (D-Fla.) on Wednesday disputed the idea that the Democratic Party is not a grassroots party.

“Respectfully to Sen. [Bernie] Sanders, we are already a grassroots party,” Schultz told MSNBC’s “For the Record with Greta.”

Sanders (I-Vt.) called for newly elected Democratic National Committee (DNC) Chairman Tom Perez to focus on the grassroots and for Democrats to fight for working people.

{mosads}Wasserman Schultz, who previously served as DNC chairwoman, said Democrats would not have been able to defeat the GOP’s healthcare measure had it not been a grassroots party.

“If we were not, we would not have been able to help bring down the absolutely abhorrent healthcare repeal bill that would have knocked 24 million people over 10 years off of their healthcare.” 

Wasserman Schultz, however, refused to say Sanders was wrong when asked by host Greta Van Susteren.

“No, it’s actually more like semantics,” she said. “We all agree that we should be, and we are, a grassroots party that focuses on making sure that we can help people reach the middle class.”

Perez has asked for resignation letters from the entire DNC staff, giving him the option of launching a large-scale shakeup. 

Wasserman Schultz stepped down from the chair position ahead of the Democratic National Convention after hacked internal DNC emails published by WikiLeaks showed an inclination toward Hillary Clinton over Sanders in the party’s presidential primaries.