Senator Bernie Sanders delivers a speech on the first day of the 2016 U.S. Democratic National Convention in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, the United States, on July 25, 2016.
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“I wake up every morning in a house that was built by slaves, and I watch my daughters, two attractive and intelligent black young women, playing with their dogs on the White House lawn”, Obama said. In the opening prayer, Reverend Cynthia Hale made brief reference to Hillary Clinton, and her words were met with chants of “Bernie, Bernie, Bernie”. Norman Solomon, national coordinator of Delegates for Bernie. Others donned Robin Hood-style hats, a call to redistribute wealth from the rich to the poor. Sanders highlighted agreements he reached with Clinton on supporting expanded access to health care and free public college tuition for students from families with annual incomes up to $125,000 a year.
The backlash raised questions over whether – and how – Clinton could ever win over Sanders supporters.
Sanders went on to underscore his many commonalities with Clinton, from climate change to healthcare to higher education, and drew a stark contrast between them both and Donald Trump. Bernie Sanders disrupted the proceedings throughout the night with boos and jeers.
The Federal Bureau of Investigation said it was investigating the “cyber intrusion”, which the Clinton campaign blamed on Russian hackers it said are bent on helping Trump. She urged the crowd that without Democrats coming together, there would be no chance at fighting for progressive change. Others simply do not trust her, opinion polls show.
While expressing anger with the Democratic Party, they said Democrats must defeat GOP nominee Donald Trump in November. As the night wore on, it was clear those talks and the message from Sanders had not swayed the delegations. Worries surfaced over whether Sanders would indeed endorse Clinton, and if he did, whether his so-called supporters would boo him too.
“Hillary Clinton will make an outstanding president and I am proud to stand with her here tonight”, he said.
The 35-year-old congressman was tabbed by Democratic insiders as the top name to replace Warren if she was picked to be Hillary Clinton’s vice president.
“We’re like a bridge over troubled water”, he said, and they went on to introduce singer Paul Simon. Instead, he continued to stress that Trump was a “bully and a demagogue”, with no respect for the constitution or civil liberties. Sanders made reinstating Glass-Stegall, a Depression-era banking law repealed under Bill Clinton’s administration, a central attack line of his campaign. But that’s a possibility that the most loyal Sanders fans are ready to accept.
“As soon as he said back Clinton, everyone stopped listening”, said Cindy Melchert, a protester who listened to the appeal over a loudspeaker at a local park. “This right now, is the greatest country on earth”, she said.
From the podium, however, some of Sanders’ allies noted their progress in influencing the party’s platform and moving to reduce the influence of superdelegates, party leaders and elected officials who help decide the nomination.
Another protester, Michael Arnold of Atlanta, would not have been out of place at a Trump rally, sporting a T-shirt that read “Hillary for prison”.
Monday’s outbursts on the floor, which seemed to subside after the first hour or so, followed angry anti-Clinton protests by Sanders supporters in the streets around the convention. This, despite Sanders telling his backers in an email and text message: “Our credibility as a movement will be damaged by booing, turning of backs, walking out or other similar displays”. “Hell, yeah!” Alexis Edelstein, 39, a California delegate and Sanders backer said when asked if he planned to keep booing Clinton through the week. Diana Hatsis-Neuhoff, a delegate from Florida adorned with buttons backing Sanders, said she planned to vote for Clinton in the general election.
Silverman finally said: “I will vote for Hillary with gusto, as I continue to be inspired and moved to action by the ideals set forth by Bernie”. Sanders also pressed for the party to support carbon pricing, the best policy to cut carbon dioxide emissions, in the platform.
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“This election is about, and must be about, the needs of the American people and the kind of future we create for our children and grandchildren”.
