Photo: Nick Solari
Bernie Sanders’s most honorable characteristic was on display Monday night, and it didn’t surprise his most insistent fans. Bernie’s integrity is based on his history of saying what he means and sticking to what he says.
During the entire presidential contest, Sanders has said he would not be “a spoiler” as he labeled it in July 2015 when interviewed by C-SPAN.
“I made the commitment I would not be a spoiler, and I will honor my promise,” said Sanders.
Peter Pan
Sanders had the task Monday night of convincing his fans to support Hillary Clinton. Trevor Noah noted his admiration for the Vermont Senator as Sanders tried to calm his supporters on the opening night of the Democratic National Convention.
A clip on “The Daily Show” showed Sanders getting booed by his supporters as he tried to convince them that a vote against Hillary Clinton was a vote in support of Donald Trump.
The Daily Show host,Trevor Noah said, “You have to love Bernie. He spent the last twelve months showing people the impossible dream — universal health coverage, free college and improvement in infrastructure. Now, in a room full of people who are crazy about those ideas, he looks like a disillusioned Peter Pan.”
What Does Democracy Look Like?
Dozens of delegates who had supported Sanders walked out of the convention to protest the nomination of Hillary Clinton.
Gathering in front of the media tent outside the arena, the protesters held signs calling for revolution as they chanted “this is what democracy looks like.” Many demonstrators wore black gags in a sign of protest.
Repeating a line from political history, some protesters sat inside the media tents and chanted “the whole world is watching”; the same line which Chicago demonstrators used in 1968 when faced with police beatings.
Many of the protesters walked out because they felt they had been disenfranchised.
“I don’t think Bernie betrayed us, but I wish he had not nominated Hillary Clinton by acclamation,” Christian Duque, 37, said.
Like Duque, many protesters felt Sanders should not have endorsed Hillary Clinton until he received some solid guarantees that, if elected, she would implement Sanders policy priorities.
Paula Olivares, an alternate delegate from Georgia, also left the arena. Like many, she was angry about the Democratic parties’ primary rules permitted many primary elections to bar independent voters as well as New York state edicts mandating persons to declare their party affiliation before the primary election.
“We are our own party,” she said about Sanders supporters. “The (Democratic) Party needs us, and they haven’t worked to get our vote.
Clinton and the Democratic National Committee talked about the need for party unity. It’s hard to take them seriously in light of the emails leaked by WikiLeaks which show the DNC betrayed their neutrality by working to nominate Clinton.