President Barack Obama decided long ago that he was no fan of female congresswoman Debbie Wasserman Schultz (D., Fla.), and now the male dominated White House is doing all it can to crush her political career.
The White House let loose on Wasserman Schultz in a lengthy Politico article that labeled her a "liability" for the Democratic Party who cares more about her "own political ambitions than helping Democrats win."
Those political ambitions have been dashed after the White House leaked details of its battle with the DNC chairwoman.
The White House has long been known as a hostile place for women, and now Wasserman Schultz is feeling that wrath.
Obama's former communications director, Anita Dunn, said that the White House "actually fit all of the classic legal requirements for a genuinely hostile workplace to women" and that " if it weren’t for the president, this place would be in court for a hostile workplace."
Female advisers in Obama's White House have voiced frustration that women staffers are kept out of Obama's inner circle. Time wrote that "Obama himself is responsible for a work atmosphere that marginalizes and ignores women."
Wasserman Schultz is getting the classic White House treatment. Obama is said to mock Wasserman Schultz whenever she greets him following Democratic events, reportedly belittling her by asking, "You need another picture, Debbie?"
There was also this interaction:
In mid-June, [Obama] attended two in one afternoon in New York, including the DNC LGBT Gala. Wasserman Schultz waited until the end of the photo line to swoop in.
"Mr. President," she said, according to people familiar with the encounter. "I just want you to know, the DNC has retired its debt."
Obama looked at her.
"Debbie, you think I don’t know?" he said. "I’m the president of the United States."
She has been kept out of Obama's way for years, according to the Politico report.
"Obama and Wasserman Schultz have rarely even talked since 2011," it states. "They don’t meet about strategy or messaging. They don’t talk much on the phone."
Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D., Mass.), a rising star on the left, wrote a book that "skewers the White House Boys Club" earlier this year, exposing a White House staff of "male insiders keeping female outsiders at a distance."
It is not just women trying to get into Obama's inner circle that are forced to deal with Obama's "woman problem." Women staffers in Obama's White House are paid less than male staffers, and the trend has continued year after year throughout his administration.
Wasserman Schultz had aspirations of growing her power in the House and eventually becoming speaker. Now predictions are that she will be pushed out of the DNC before her term even expires.
