It made for Christmas in July for conservatives.
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When he spoke, a scuffle broke out between a Sanders supporter and a Clinton supporter in the hall.
While the four-day event was supposed to showcase party unity with Sanders finally falling in line behind presumptive Democratic presidential nominee Clinton, a newly disclosed trove of emails by WikiLeaks discredited party establishment’s claim of neutrality and threatened to derail Clinton’s effort to unify disgruntled supporters of Sanders.
Sure, the right would find disaster in Philadelphia no matter what.
Clinton supporters began chanting, “Hil-la-ry, Hil-la-ry”, but they were quickly drowned out by chants of “Bernie, Bernie!” And while Mr. Sanders is expected to make nice with Mrs. Clinton during this week’s liberal-leaning love-fest in the City of Brotherly Love, his independent supporters are seething about how Democratic insiders apparently tried to put in the fix for Mrs. Clinton and against their candidate. At Salon: “Storm clouds over Philly: Does the DNC’s unsettled mood spell doom or democracy?”
And even on the convention floor, signs of discord were everywhere.
Philadelphia seemed to have kumbaya potential for the Democrats.
Clinton promised an uplifting counterpoint to Trump’s dark portrayal of the state of the nation, but the fallout from some 19,000 leaked Democratic National Committee emails threatened to complicate those plans.
“In these stressful times for our country, this election must be about bringing our people together, not dividing us up”.
He continued, “Hillary Clinton will make an outstanding president, and I am proud to stand with her here tonight”. Point to the GOP. At a morning gathering of Florida delegates, Sanders supporters jeered Democratic National Committee chairwoman Debbie Wasserman Schultz, who they accuse of trying to sabotage the campaign of the self-described democratic socialist from Vermont, and who has resigned over the e-mail controversy. Her formal welcome was briefly held up a slight oversight – she forgot the gavel and had to retrieve it off stage.
Sanders joined a high-wattage line-up of speakers, including first lady Michelle Obama who delivered a forceful, impassioned defense of the Democratic nominee.
Sanders’ place in primetime on the first night of the Democratic convention was a nod to the unexpected resonance his campaign had with the Democratic electorate.
Unity was to be the message of the night, but booing was commonplace.
For the last 13 months, Sanders has criss-crossed America from Portland, Maine, to Portland, Oregon, riling up crowds of 20,000 or more that filled up hockey rinks and urban parks and swelled into the streets.
But Petzel, despite his support for Sanders, said he found it “annoying”. The first lady said she was the person most qualified to be president, and “I’m with her”. “Relax, I’ve put some cream on it”. Silverman said a “vital part” of Sanders’ movement is ensuring Clinton will be president.
“If you don’t believe this election is important, if you think you can sit it out, take a moment to think about the Supreme Court justices that Donald Trump would nominate and what that would mean to civil liberties, equal rights and the future of our country”, he said. Her’s was the strongest speech of the night. “It’s just more of the same”, she said.
Then came Warren bashing CEO salaries and arguing that Washington isn’t stuck in gridlock when it comes to tax breaks for fat cats.
Ross said that Sunday’s marches involving thousands of people were “like a scrimmage game” and that while the protests will only get bigger, he was pleased with how respectful the demonstrators have been.
You had former Denver Mayor Wellington Webb evoking the image of Lebron James and Steph Curry shaking hands at the end of a hard-fought NBA Championship series as a parallel for a Democratic Primary that exposed some intraparty rifts.
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The noisy protests, which preceded Sanders’ own long-sought speech at the convention, also suggested that he may no longer be the pied piper of a political movement that he transformed from a fringe campaign into a juggernaut. You know what I’m saying.
