Demonstrators make their way around downtown, Monday, July 25, 2016, in Philadelphia, during the first day of the Democratic National Convention.
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Several Maryland Democrats said Monday that they agreed with Debbie Wasserman Schultz’s decision to step down as the chairwoman of the Democratic Party, arguing it would blunt the controversy surrounding the party’s leaked internal emails.
TALLAHASSEE, Fla. (AP) – The furor over leaked emails not only got U.S. Rep. Emails related to DNC chair Debbie Wasserman Schultz’s trip to Alaska were part of the release.
Wikileaks posted emails suggesting the DNC was favoring Clinton over Sanders during the primary season.
A row of police officers stood between the stage and the protesters as the Florida congresswoman, who is up for re-election, finished her speech. While she has often avoided overt politics during her almost eight years in the White House, her frustration with Trump’s rise was evident.
“I can see there’s a little bit of interest in my being here”, Wasserman Schultz said. That message – and the endorsement of Sanders – has helped the political upstart raise a surprising $2.2 million through June 30, mostly through small donations, after refusing to take money from political action committees.
Her fellow Floridians loudly booed her when she spoke at her home state’s delegate breakfast Monday morning. “I know we would have had Bernie Sanders for president”, said Palm Beach County delegate Diana Hatsis-Neuhoff. She said she plans to formally open and close the convention, as well as address delegates.
That wish was granted after she was booed and heckled by her fellow Floridians.
“Her supporters pushed back, standing on chairs and yelling at the Sanders people to step back or sit down”.
Wasserman Schultz tried to shout over the raucous crowd, saying, “We have to make sure that we move together in a unified way!”
Then she left the room, refusing to speak to reporters.
Wasserman Schultz’s swift ouster underscores party leaders’ desire to avoid convention confrontations with Sanders’ loyal supporters.
Campaigning in North Carolina, Trump seemed to revel in the Democrats’ commotion, telling supporters that Clinton made a mistake by not choosing a more liberal running mate to appease Sanders’ base.
Experts say the DNC emails bear evidence of passing through Russian hands and look to be efforts by the Russians to first, cover their tracks and cast doubt on their role in the hack, and second, influence the United States election towards Donald Trump, who has spoken favorable of Russian President Vladimir Putin and advocated weakening North Atlantic Treaty Organisation.
And while he was speaking, Wasserman Schultz announced she would not gavel in the convention, an embarrassing acknowledgment that her presence onstage would only showcase deep party divisions. One top Democratic official described Wasserman Schultz to CNN as “quarantined”.
“I mean there’s no question to my mind and I think no question to any objective observer’s mind that the DNC was supporting Hillary Clinton, and was at opposition to our campaign”, Sanders said.
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“We live in odd times and the only thing we can be sure of is that the unpredictable will happen”, Ceasar said.
