Democrats are opening their national convention in Philadelphia eager to show off a forward-looking party united behind Hillary Clinton.
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The DNC follows a whirlwind Republican National Convention, during with Donald Trump officially became the GOP’s nomination for the 2016 presidential race.
It was at least the second incidence of booing ahead of the convention – Democratic National Committee Chair Debbie Wasserman Schultz was booed earlier in the morning while speaking to Florida delegates.
He noted that Clinton won more pledged delegates and had a greater popular vote than Sanders, and that the Vermont senator himself has acknowledged that Clinton is the “rightful nominee”.
As Sanders spoke, Wasserman Schultz announced she would not gavel in the convention, recognition that her presence onstage would only showcase Democrats’ deep divisions.
“Her resignation opens up the possibility of new leadership at the top of the Democratic Party”, Sanders said, adding that the leadership should be made up of “people who want real change”. “She really knows going into this job exactly what it’s going to take”, she said. And he, too, celebrated the ouster of Wasserman Schultz after the email hack. She will formally accept the nomination on Thursday.
The cache of leaked emails disclosed that DNC officials explored ways to undercut Sanders’ insurgent presidential campaign, including raising questions about whether Sanders, who is Jewish, was an atheist.
“We have got to elect Hillary Clinton and Tim Kaine”, Sanders said, which prompted some attendees to shout him down.
The Clinton camp questioned whether Russians may have had a hand in the hack attack on the party’s emails in an effort to help Trump, who has exchanged words of praise with Russian President Vladimir Putin.
Allen, who most recently served as America’s special envoy to the coalition fighting the Islamic State group, said Monday that he generally keeps out of politics but “given the complexities of issues facing our country today and its longtime allies, I felt compelled to speak up and be heard”.
“Wow, the Republican Convention went so smoothly compared to the Dems total mess”, he wrote on Twitter.
Presumed Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton listens during a town hall style campaign event, Tuesday, Dec. 29, 2015, at South Church in Portsmouth, New Hampshire.
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The call to order comes at 4:00 p.m. ET, though, and throughout the night of July 25, we will see speeches from Michelle Obama, Bernie Sanders, Astrid Silva, Karla Ortiz and Francesca Ortiz, Pam Livengood, and Anastasia Somoza, among others. Her daughter, Chelsea Clinton, is also expected to speak that night.
