Mother Jones: Expect Bernie Sanders Delegate Chaos at Convention

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AP Photo/John Minchillo

David Corn writes at Mother Jones about the coming chaos at the Democratic National Convention in Philadelphia.

“We got her. We got her.”

It’s near midnight. Democratic Party delegates are milling about the lobby bar of the Marriott in downtown Philadelphia. And on the big overhead screen, there’s a CNN report on the news of the day: Rep. Debbie Wasserman Schultz (D-Fla.), the chairwoman of the Democratic National Committee, had given up the post after leaked emails showed that some DNC officials had discussed how to thwart Bernie Sanders’ campaign.

Sanders delegates are cheering wildly. The head of the party apparatus many of them despise is out. It’s a victory for the Sanders revolution. Off to the side, a Florida delegate for Hillary Clinton looks on sadly. “I suppose she had to go,” he says. He then sums up the relationship between Sanders delegates and Clinton delegates with one word: “acidic.”

As thousands of delegates to the Democratic convention hit the City of Brotherly Love (and Sisterly Affection), it was clear that the Clinton campaign’s talk of unity, in the wake of announcing Tim Kaine as Clinton’s running mate, was more hope than reality. Sanders delegates throughout the city were grousing about a series of perceived slights and wrongs: the selection of Kaine, with his centrist reputation; the leaked emails, which showed that, yes, the DNC favored Clinton over Sanders, but didn’t contain evidence of much underhanded activity; and Clinton’s inadequate (in their view) outreach to the Sanders crowd. At a pro-Sanders rally on Sunday afternoon, attendees chanted, “Lock her up,” echoing the mantra of Donald Trump’s convention last week. At a Monday morning gathering of the California Democratic delegation, Sanders delegates booed mentions of Clinton. And Florida Sanders delegates jeered Wasserman Schultz at their breakfast meeting.

Many Sanders folks are still grieving and not accepting Clinton’s triumph. Though Sanders nudged Clinton to the left during the campaign, demonstrated the vitality of the Democratic Party’s progressive wing, helped craft the party’s most progressive platform in decades, and won a small concession regarding the future of superdelegates within the party, many of his delegates were openly and vigorously expressing disappointment and voicing their dissatisfaction with Clinton.

Lisa Flyte, a Sanders representative on the convention credentials committee, griped that the Clinton campaign “is still taking jabs at us.” Though she noted she believed that a Trump victory would likely be bad news for low- and middle-income Americans, she said Clinton has “supported policies that hurt middle-income people here and abroad.” She blasted Clinton for supporting “oligarchs overseas and big energy companies.” She was ticked off that the Clinton campaign “is saying we’re unified without real accommodations.” She added, “We’re not ready to move on.”

Read the rest here.

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