Neither campaign would publicly confirm what sources in both campaigns have been privately saying for days, namely that this would be the site where Sanders would officially end his now-quixotic bid for the Democratic nomination and endorse her.
Advertisement
In contrast, he recalled 1980, when Ted Kennedy sulked over his primary season loss to President Jimmy Carter and did little to hide his abiding contempt.
The minimum wage language pushes Clinton left of the position she’s taken on the campaign trail.
But the feisty self-described democratic socialist nevertheless has refused to concede defeat to his more moderate rival, although he has said he will vote for Clinton and will do anything to help defeat Republican Donald Trump.
The two Democratic presidential candidates appear to be inching toward unity, if not Unity. “You bet your bottom dollar”, he said Wednesday on CNN.
Sanders has made combating healthcare costs a rallying cry of his campaign and often battled with Clinton during the primary race on how best to reach their shared goal of universal healthcare.
Without confirming that he would endorse Clinton, Sanders said, “It’s fair to say that the Clinton campaign and our campaign are coming closer and closer together in trying to address the major issues facing this country, which is what my campaign was all about”. When asked if he would campaign with her Tuesday, Sanders did not answer directly.
As NBC News reported, the draft platform “still needs to be ratified at the Democratic National Convention in Philadelphia”, though no major changes are expected.
Some Sanders supporters watching the committee meeting from the sidelines booed those votes, shouting “Shame!” and “Are you really Democrats?”.
The Clinton campaign, through its proxies on the platform committee, already had moved considerably in Sanders’ direction before the meeting started. But it wasn’t a lost weekend for Sanders; the party added explicit support for a federal $15-an-hour minimum wage to the platform, expressing support for one of the Vermont senator’s signature initiatives.
But on the ground, Sanders’ most ardent supporters were angered by votes against amendments that would have called for the removal of the cap on taxable income to fund Social Security, opposed the Trans-Pacific Partnership trade deal, and condemned Israel’s “occupation and illegal settlements” of Palestine. Clinton came out in opposition to the trade pact during the primary, after supporting the early stages of the deal when she served as Obama’s secretary of state.
“Nobody wants to oppose something that (Obama) has put together”, she said.
Some Sanders supporters scoffed at that.
Sanders has been working to influence the party’s agenda since Clinton clinched the nomination last month.
Portsmouth would be an ideal location for a Clinton-Sanders love fest.
Clinton’s announcement on Saturday is the second adjustment she’s made in her platform this week as part of her overture to Sanders’ supporters. About a week ago, Clinton announced new provisions in her higher-education plan, which Sanders hailed as “extraordinarily powerful”.
Sanders has drawn criticism from the Democratic Party for withholding his endorsement for so long.
Advertisement
“I could not be more proud of the fact that this platform is poised to be the most progressive, ambitious and inclusive platform in the Democratic Party’s history”, Wasserman Schultz said. But Sanders is looking for more before the meeting concludes. She’s against it, she’s for it, she’s for it, she’s against it. I think there’s been an openness on her side to this, but integrity has to do with execution.
