History has been made in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, as Hillary Clinton is now the first female presidential nominee with the U.S. Democratic National party.
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The roll call of the states, in recent years an irrelevant if colorful political convention anachronism, became a focal point of Democratic unity Tuesday night, as Bernie Sanders took the microphone when it was over to ask that his rival Hillary Clinton be nominated by acclamation.
Inside the media centre, hundreds of protesters have tape reading “silenced” over their lips, while dozens more supporters gathered outside the tent. By early evening, a large crowd had formed outside the subway station closest to the arena.
In a separate protest against police brutality and racial injustice, about 500 people marched down Broad Street to City Hall.
Earlier in the day, participants at the rally charged that Sanders was cheated out of the nomination, and they said they weren’t swayed by his Monday plea to his supporters to fall in line behind Clinton for the good of the country.
Clinton thus became, nearly a century after a constitutional amendment first guaranteed American women the vote, the first female major party nominee for president. “The nomination was stolen”, Dilks said. “If we have no voice, I’m not sure why they brought us out here”. “There are a portion of Sanders’ voters who are so far to the left that earning their support is not a practical option for the Clinton campaign”. His appeal ended suspense over whether his loyal supporters would cheer, boo or sit on their hands as Clinton was nominated. The “Bernie or bust” brigades that have marched across the sun-warped city threatened to disrupt Clinton’s moment as the first woman to be nominated for president by a major US political party.
Signs read “Black Lives Matter”, “Love Trumps Fear”, “Bernie or Bust”.
Supporters of Clinton say her Washington credentials show she has the experience needed for the White House during troubled times as the United States tries to speed up its economic recovery and faces security challenges overseas.
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Delegates chanted: “Hillary, Hillary” as US Senator Barbara Mikulski of Maryland formally put forward Clinton’s name for the roll-call vote. “I think the DNC is making a very clear choice right now and it’s a poor choice”, she said. “I guess.” She said she won’t back Trump and called Clinton “the lesser of two evils”.
