She doesn’t come right out and say, “or else,” though that sense is strongly implied in emails from the Democratic National Committee to NBC’s Chuck Todd.
The emails are part of the trove released days ago by WikiLeaks. All relate to negative coverage of Chairwoman Debbie Wasserman Schultz by “Morning Joe’s” Mika Brzenzinski, who has called for Schultz’s ouster.
One of the emails, bearing the subject line “Chuck, this must stop,” is from Schultz herself and reads:
Will this presidential election be the most important in American history?
From:hrtsleeve@gmail.com To: chuck.todd@nbcuni.com Date: 2016-05-18 11:19 Subject: Chuck, this must stop Chuck, see below. I would like to discuss this with you today. Can you reach out to Luis to schedule a call? Thanks. DWS> MSNBC’s Brzezinski: Wasserman Schultz ‘Should Step Down,’ Dem Primary ‘Has Been Unfair’ To Sanders> 0> 0>> by IAN HANCHETT18 May 20160> SIGN UP FOR OUR NEWSLETTER>> •>> On Wednesday, MSNBC’s “Morning Joe” co-host Mika Brzezinski called for DNC Chair Representative Debbie Wasserman Schultz (D-FL) to “step down” over her handling of this year’s Democratic presidential primary.>> After playing a clip of Wasserman Schultz, Brzezinski said, “This has been very poorly handled from the start. Ot has been unfair, and they haven’t taken him seriously, and it starts, quite frankly, with the person that we just heard speaking. It just does.”>> Brzezinski added of Wasserman Schultz, “She should step down.”>> Brzezinski’s co-host, former Republican Congressman Joe Scarborough wondered why Sanders would “get in line” for the Democratic Party, given that they “rigged the entire thing,” and that if he was in Sanders’ position, “I’d say, ‘Go straight to hell, I’m running as an independent.’”>> Follow Ian Hanchett on Twitter @IanHanchettDWS
This is the LAST straw. Please call Phil a [sic] Griffin. This is outrageous. She needs to apologize.
Phil Griffin (the name Schultz meant to write) is the president of MSNBC.
The tone of Schultz’s communication suggests she believes, possibly accurately, that the Democratic Party has some control over the “news” the network disseminates. The phrase last straw (the first word in all caps) lends further credence to this interpretation.
If it does turn out that the Dems pull the strings over at NBC, or at least MSNBC, would hardly be shocking. Both the parent and satellite network have long shilled for the Democratic Party.