Las Vegas Sun

March 28, 2024

Sanders urges fans to rally behind Clinton; some Nevada delegates still uncertain

Sanders

John Locher / AP

Former Democratic presidential candidate Bernie Sanders takes the stage during the first day of the Democratic National Convention in Philadelphia, Monday, July 25, 2016.

Democratic National Convention 2016

Democratic Presidential nominee Hillary Clinton hugs President Barack Obama after joining him on stage during the third day of the Democratic National Convention in Philadelphia , Wednesday, July 27, 2016. (AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite) Launch slideshow »

PHILADELPHIA — Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders made an impassioned plea to his supporters on the opening night of the Democratic National Convention: Stand behind Hillary Clinton or face the prospect of a Donald Trump presidency.

The speech officially capped off months of intense campaigning across the country between Sanders and the former secretary of state. Sanders acknowledged his supporters’ disappointment in his loss, though adding that no one is more disappointed than he is.

However, Sanders encouraged his supporters to take pride in their accomplishments over the election cycle, passing the party’s most progressive platform ever and working to change the status quo in the Democratic Party.

He painted a stark picture of what a Trump presidency might look like, asking the crowd to consider what kind of Supreme Court justices Trump would appoint and how they might rule on Citizens United, workers’ rights, LGBT rights, and immigration, among other issues.

"If you don’t believe this election is important, if you think you can sit it out, take a moment to think about the Supreme Court justices that Donald Trump would nominate and what that would mean to civil liberties, equal rights and the future of our country,” Sanders said.

He reminded the crowd that the election is not about him or Clinton or Trump. It’s not even about polls or campaign strategy, he said.

"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,” Sanders said.

He focused on the decline of the middle class and income inequality and asked Democrats to remember where the country was when President Barack Obama took office seven and a half years ago. He praised the president’s leadership in pulling the country out of the recession but added that “much, more more needs to be done."

He said the country needs someone who can unite them — whether they’re Hispanic, Muslim, women, African-American, or veterans — instead of dividing them.

"By these measures, any objective observer will conclude that — based on her ideas and her leadership — Hillary Clinton must become the next president of the United States,” Sanders said.

Sanders told the crowd that the next focus needs to be making sure that the Democratic platform passed today is implemented by a Democratic-controlled Congress and a Clinton presidency.

“I am going to do everything I can to make that happen,” Sanders said.

Sanders recounted the story of a single mom he met in Nevada, telling the delegates that this election is about helping workers who are trying to live on "totally inadequate wages."

“With tears in her eyes (she) told me that she was scared to death about the future because she and her young daughter were not making it on the $10.45 an hour she was earning,” Sanders said.

Earlier in the day, Sanders had a meeting with his delegates in which he delivered a similar message. After both events, many of his supporters were unhappy with what he said and indicated they weren’t ready to back Clinton.

Throughout the afternoon's and evening’s proceedings, Sanders delegates frequently booed any mentions of Clinton or her vice presidential running mate Tim Kaine. In an email this afternoon, Sanders asked his supporters not to boo or protest at the convention.

Many of the other speakers during the day’s proceedings tried to encourage unity between Democratic Party members, notably, first lady Michelle Obama and Massachusetts Sen. Elizabeth Warren.

One notable figure who did not make an appearance: DNC Chairwoman Debbie Wasserman Schultz. Ohio Rep. Marcia Fudge instead served as permanent convention chair, and Wasserman Schultz did not even gavel the convention in as was previously planned.

Michelle Obama talked about raising her two daughters with the president and how they often thought about the kind of future they want their girls to grow up in.

"Not Democrat or Republican, not left or right — in this election and every election is about who will have the power to shape our children for the next four or eight years of their lives,” she said.

Warren, meanwhile, centered her message on a takedown of Trump, while praising Clinton as one of the "toughest, smartest, most tenacious people on this planet.” She urged the crowd that without Democrats coming together, there would be no chance at fighting for progressive change.

"When we turn on each other, we can't unite to fight back against a rigged system,” Warren said.

But it’s an argument Sanders supporters have heard time and time again: If you don’t want Trump to win, vote Clinton — and it’s a one a lot of them still aren’t buying.

“I need a better reason than that,” said Sanders delegate Adam Stuart Littman, 43, from North Las Vegas on Monday afternoon. “You don’t earn our votes by telling us not to vote for someone else.”

Asked what it would take for him to get behind Clinton, Littman said he honestly couldn’t say. “She changes her policies when it’s expedient,” Littman said. “And her choosing Tim Kaine is a clear signal that she’s reaching out to moderate Republicans, not progressives.”

Angie Morelli, a Sanders delegate from Nevada, said that it “sucked” to hear Sanders' speech today. She said it wasn’t worth the hours of getting “inundated and brainwashed with Hillary Clinton commercials” for the rest of the afternoon and evening’s program.

Morelli said that Tuesday she’s planning to “do the final thing we can do,” which is attempt to persuade superdelegates to switch their votes from Clinton to Sanders.

“Bernie, I honestly mostly felt for him,” Morelli said. “It must’ve been a hard speech for him to do.”

Morelli said she was also upset and disheartened by comedian Sarah Silverman, who issued a harsh condemnation of some Sanders supporters after she was booed for saying she would “proudly” vote for Clinton after being in the Sanders camp.

“To the Bernie-or-bust people, you’re being ridiculous,” Silverman said, adding after a round of applause, “There’s so much I want to say.”

On the flip side, Assemblyman Nelson Araujo, a Clinton delegate, said that he was proud to have Sanders on Clinton’s side. Araujo said that the Democrats are stronger together and that he believes that Clinton will make sure everyone's voices are heard.

“I loved his final line. ‘I’m proud to stand with her tonight,’” Araujo said after Sanders’ address. “They have come together and developed a great platform.”

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