She had served as a volunteer and then as a regional field director for Sanders’ presidential campaign this year, and was on the convention floor on Tuesday to watch Clinton officially become the first woman to be nominated for president by a major US political party.
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They heard the pleas for unity. “But it is harder to look your kids in the face, who would be living under a Donald Trump presidency”.
235: Number of days (as of Tuesday) since Hillary Clinton last held a press conference.
And they were not moved.
But off to the side, to the left of the white-haired man at the podium, hundreds of Bernie Sanders delegates booed.
In between these personal accounts he wove in bits about her professional biography, as well as her political and policy commitments. But that was complicated by both Bill’s notable speech and, in particular, its length, which pushed her brief appearance by satellite to slightly later than planned, just after 11 p.m.
Clinton haters, and there are a lot of them, no doubt hated the speech.
Sanders is a self-described revolutionary. But Bill Clinton’s speech piqued extra interest since he hopes to be the first first man. Clinton, a former president, is a beloved figure to many Democrats, but he carries with him the baggage of numerous scandals and investigations. Clinton’s views have shifted over the years, especially on trade, a key campaign issue. “That’s just who she is”, Clinton said of his wife, ticking off all the times she’d devoted her time to public service from work on desegregating schools and helping improve education in their early years together to her efforts as secretary of state.
It is true that Bill Clinton gave the keynote address at the convention Tuesday evening, and that Sanders motioned that the delegates accept Secretary Clinton as the party’s nominee.
The Wall Street Journal, meanwhile, reported that “Hillary Clinton wins nomination” – but initially ran a photo of Bill before swapping it overnight for Hillary.
Jennifer Hall flew into Philadelphia from California and said her fellow Sanders supporters seemed exhausted. Among those pledging support for the Democratic nominee were the “mothers of the movement” – several black women whose children were victims of gun violence.
In quick order, the DNC chair Debbie Wasserman Schultz resigned over the leaks, and party officials have apologized, particularly for an email in which one official questions Sanders’ religious beliefs and suggests that those beliefs could be used against him.
While O’Reilly talked about the controversy that originated on his own show, CNN and MSNBC aired convention speakers who talked about gun violence, including a woman whose mother died in the Sandy Hook school shooting in CT.
The Wells Fargo Arena erupted in cheers, perhaps of relief more than anything else.
If never Hillary, then who?
Going after Trump is nothing new for Obama, who has repeatedly attacked the billionaire businessman at home and overseas.
The system was instituted in 1984, partially to insulate the party from a primary process that had resulted in the nomination of candidates considered unelectable and overly liberal, like George McGovern.
Demonstrator Shannon Morgan, who’s from suburban NY, said she’s tired by political frustration, long days and hot pavement that burned through the soles of her Vans and scorched the bottoms of her feet.
Could these lost votes cost Clinton the election?
Her nomination was not the only precedent-setter at the convention.
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Still, in a tight race in a battleground state, every vote matters. Some wonder how history might have been changed if votes cast for Green Party candidate Ralph Nader had instead gone to Gore.
