Rep. Debbie Wasserman Schultz (D., Fla.) struggled to articulate Thursday what the Democratic strategy for gun control legislation is beyond staging a sit-in that one ABC reporter likened to a "slumber party."
Schultz joined other congressional Democrats in a chaotic scene in the House of Representatives that began Wednesday morning and was still playing out Thursday. Democrats are staging a dramatic sit-in to push for a vote on gun control legislation that was already defeated in the U.S. Senate.
Appearing on CBS This Morning, Schultz could do little more than recycle talking points about how "we have to act."
"Tell me what the strategy is right now," CBS host Charlie Rose said.
"You know, the strategy is that we're at a point in the year where we've had more than 100 mass shootings in this country and countless numbers of times that members of Congress, from the cities across this country in which those shootings have taken place, have stood on the House floor in the well and asked for a moment of silence, and the thoughts and prayers of our colleagues," she said. "Well, thoughts and prayers aren't good enough anymore. We have to act. We have an obligation to make sure that the legacy of those children who were killed—
Rose cut in.
"So help us understand what the strategy is," he said. "How long will you be there? What's the strategy? How will you measure what you can accomplish?"
"Well, we are going to hold the floor of the House of Representatives," she said. "We are in our 19th hour, until we can get the majority to do their jobs and give us a vote."
Schultz continued to use the high-octane language used by her colleagues, saying it was a "cowardly act" to not allow a vote on the legislation.
Norah O'Donnell reminded her that Republicans adjourned Congress around 3:00 in the morning.
"But Congresswoman, hasn't Congress adjourned?" she asked. "Hasn't the Speaker adjourned Congress and said you can go home until after the July 4th holiday?"
"He has, but that doesn't mean that we can't continue and we will continue to shine a spotlight on this issue," Schultz said.
Democrats shouted down House Speaker Paul Ryan (R., Wis.) when he spoke in the chamber early in the morning, waving signs with gun violence victims' names. They insisted their antics were bigger than politics, although that didn't stop them from fundraising off the sit-in.