As I walked around the grounds, weaving between trees and tents and larger-than-life effigies of Bernie Sanders, the lack of Hillary support was impossible to ignore.
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Let’s just compare the lineups. “Bernie!” They still were when Franken joined Silverman a minute later.
The real main event, of course, was Bernie Sanders.
You know, I happen to believe the insane notion that people who weren’t born with the same opportunities as you and me should be given the same opportunities as you and me. Those cheers turned to boos when it became evident that Silverman was about to endorse Hillary.
As they were bantering to buy time while musician Paul Simon prepared to perform, chants of “Bernie” broke out in the convention hall, prompting Silverman’s comment.
“To the Bernie or bust people”, Silverman said, “You’re being ridiculous”.
Chants of “We want Bernie!” and “Not for sale!” rang out as Maine State Rep. Diane Russell, a Sanders supporter, said their revolution must continue.
At that point, her speech was supposed to finish. As she was joined on stage by Minnesota Senator Al Franken, Silverman chose to go off script and tell the Sanders supporters in attendance what was on her mind…
“Hillary heard the passion of the people – the people behind Bernie – and brought those passions into the party’s platform”, the comedian said. “Bernie! Bernie!” grew to deafening levels, the comedian grew more exasperated by the lack of unity within the DNC crowd. “It’s so inspiring. Just a few years ago, she was a secretary, and now she’s going to be president”.
“Thank God they can fix this in post”, Silverman joked. She opened by reminding the Democratic party faithful of the last time she addressed the convention: “It is hard to believe that it has been eight years since I first came to this convention to talk with you about why I thought my husband should be president”. As a ninth-generation American from South Texas, she said, “My family never crossed a border – the border crossed us”. In fact, he’s a United States veteran. “Hillary Clinton will nominate justices to the Supreme Court who are prepared to overturn Citizens United…and end the movement toward oligarchy we are seeing in this country”.
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The star of the night was First Lady Michelle Obama, who delivered an emphatic endorsement of Clinton, declaring “I’m with her”, and taking a sharp swipe at Republican nominee Donald Trump, sparking a euphoric reception.
