PHILADELPHIA — Former Pennsylvania Gov. Ed Rendell, who’s chairing the host committee for the Democratic National Convention, said on Monday the Democratic National Committee did have its thumb on the scale for Hillary Clinton during the Democratic primary but was too ineffectual to really make a difference.
“Sure,” Mr. Rendell said on MSNBC’s “Morning Joe.” “Did it affect the outcome much? Not at all. They’re pretty ineffectual.”
Mr. Rendell, a past chairman of the DNC, said the organization is by nature ineffectual during a primary.
Rep. Debbie Wasserman Schultz, who chairs the DNC, announced Sunday she is stepping down from her post after the convention, after WikiLeaks released an embarrassing cache of internal DNC communications in which party staff were seen openly musing about a narrative that Sen. Bernard Sanders was running a “mess” of a campaign, among other revelations.
“You’ve got to not only be fair, but you have to have the appearance of being fair,” Mr. Rendell said. “It’s very important, and it can’t be minimized.”
Ms. Wasserman Schultz said she still plans to open and close the convention — which Mr. Rendell said would be a mistake.
“Number one for her own good, because it’s going to be messy when she gets up there,” he said. “Debbie is very single-minded, very dedicated; she worked very hard. But she’s stubborn, and she wants to see this thing through.”
“I can understand it, but I think the Clinton campaign — and I’ve tried to send messages through the airwaves … I just think it’s wrong for her, and it’s wrong for us,” Mr. Rendell said. “Look, we had a problem getting all the Sanders people to vote for Hillary before this happened.”
“We got a lot of work to do, and anything that exacerbates that situation — it’s important to get rid of it,” he said.
• David Sherfinski can be reached at dsherfinski@washingtontimes.com.
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