Die-hard Bernie Sanders supporters descended on Philadelphia for this week’s Democratic National Convention, many so irate with party flagbearer Hillary Clinton that they are prepared to contemplate the once-inconceivable alternative: President Donald Trump.
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Debbie Wasserman Schultz quit a few days after the publication of 19,000 hacked emails, which Mr Sanders said confirmed his belief that the national party had favoured Mrs Clinton during the contest.
Carrying pitchforks meant to portray Clinton as the devil, hundreds of Sanders supporters took to the streets of Philadelphia earlier on Sunday to say they felt betrayed by the DNC. Bernie Sanders supporters expect about 3,000 protesters will join them in a march from City Hall to a park near the convention site.
“I look forward to campaigning with Debbie in Florida and helping her in her re-election bid-because as President, I will need fighters like Debbie in Congress”, Clinton said.
The resignation broke as thousands of delegates, including 1,900 who backed Sanders, are converging on Philadelphia and on Saturday won concessions to change the way delegates are awarded in future presidential campaigns.
Protests were also set to include a vigil for the “death of democarcy” and a public play showing “the trial of Hillary Clinton”.
Clinton is to be officially nominated at the Philadelphia meeting.
“What’s disturbing to us is that experts are telling us that Russian state actors broke into the DNC, stole these emails and other experts are now saying that Russians are releasing these emails for the objective of helping Donald Trump”, Clinton campaign chairman Robby Mook said on CNN’s “State of the Union”. The arena has been transformed with stages, platforms, cameras and lights. They include single-payer health care, free college tuition, campaign finance reform – and opposing the new Trans-Pacific Partnership trade deal.
And they are incensed that the party’s rules committee punted on eliminating superdelegates from the process of choosing the party’s nominee.
Last week marked the end of Republican Party’s national convention, which saw tumultuous protests on the first day, Melania Trump’s speech controversy on the second, and Ted Cruz’s non-endorsement of Donald Trump speech on the third. While party chairwoman Debbie Wasserman Schultz is stepping down soon, she will still have a convention role, which could draw jeers from Sanders delegates. Bernie Sanders is not the party’s nominee.
And that’s just the first night.
Philadelphia officials estimate between 35,000 and 50,000 people will demonstrate across the city each day.
“What happened with the choice of Tim Kaine was a slap in the face to Bernie Sanders and everybody”, he stated. She will be the first woman nominated for president by a major US political party.
“The selection of Kaine will make it much more hard to defeat Donald Trump”.
“There are very serious discussions going on about a challenge on the floor to the vice presidential pick”. But the Vermont Senator has struck a positive message in recent interviews, expressing his support for Hillary Clinton.
He also indicated that Sanders is not calling the shots – and that any suggestions from Sanders will be taken “under advisement”. The Florida congresswoman said that she would step down after the convention.
Her departure, long sought by Sanders, is aimed at drawing a line under the scandal as establishment Democrats seek desperately to unite the party behind the campaign of former secretary of state Clinton, who goes up against Republican Donald Trump in the November presidential election.
“The Progressive Democrats have no interest in standing down”. It’s about the movement.
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Stepping back, the notion put forth by the Clinton campaign that Russian Federation somehow had a role in Friday’s release of 20,000 e-mails where top DNC officials were caught plotting against Sanders-such as the party spokesman suggesting it might hurt him in southern states if his religious beliefs were questioned-strains the imagination, even as computer experts say it is possible.
