Minority Dem delegates frustrated with ‘Bernie or Bust’
As most Democrats rally around Hillary Clinton, the lingering “Bernie or Bust” movement is stirring frustration at the party’s convention among delegates of color, who say they’re upset at the refusal of the Vermont senator’s most fervent backers to fall in line. “I am so exhausted by it,” said Danielle Adams, a black Clinton delegate from North Carolina. “I think there are undercuts of privilege that concern me.” Adams is among those who say the “Never Hillary” crowd, a group that is largely younger and white, isn’t considering the struggles black Americans still face every day. And, they argue, how the nation’s ethnic and racial minorities may be affected by a Donald Trump presidency. Rep. Cheryl Brown, a California delegate from San Bernardino who is black, condemned what she called the “aggressive” behavior of some Sanders delegates, saying they jumped on tables and shoved people at the state’s hotel the night that Sanders moved that the convention nominate Clinton by acclamation. “I think here at the convention, it’s been exacerbated by the way they are treating people,” she said. “I haven’t had that happen with any of the African-American Bernie supporters.” Maryland Rep. Elijah Cummings, an African-American and close ally of Clinton, was telling the story of his late father — a share-cropper in South Carolina — on the convention’s first day when Sanders supporters started chanting “No TPP” and holding up signs opposing the trade pact. “It was downright disrespectful,” said Kweisi Mfume, a Clinton delegate and former head of the NAACP, who called it “a low point” of the four-day summer meeting. “I think it does not necessarily help the relations that Bernie’s people may have with the larger African-American community.” To be sure, many black delegates at the convention said they don’t view the “Bernie or Bust” movement through a racial lens. Count Cummings among them. He said that as a veteran of many civil rights protests, he understands the passions that drove the mostly young delegates to shout over his speech. “The optics were not pretty, but I couldn’t be upset with them. Two or three years ago, they would have been outside politics,” he said, adding that more than 100 people have since apologized for the outbursts. “I am so glad these people are under our tent.” Others, meanwhile, are frustrated by Sanders backers who contend the nomination was stolen from the Vermont senator. They say those delegates are ignoring the fact Sanders lost the nomination to Clinton, in part, because he didn’t appeal strongly enough to African-American voters. “They haven’t considered the perspective of minorities,” said Kenneth Williams, a black Clinton delegate from Texas. “I don’t think there was enough there to bridge to that community.” Clinton undoubtedly has far more appeal than Sanders among black voters, a critical voting bloc in Democratic primaries. The former secretary of state won more than three out of four black votes in 25 primary states where exit polling was conducted and, by the end of the primary season, she had swept the 15 states with the largest black populations. “At the end of the day, (Sanders’) coalition looked too much like a modern day Woodstock, and not enough like the Obama coalition it takes to win the primaries and the general,” said Boyd Brown, a Democratic National Committeeman from South Carolina who supported former Maryland Gov. Martin O’Malley. Michelle Bryant, a radio talk host in Milwaukee who is attending the convention, said she’s heard similar concerns from some people who call into her show. She said Clinton has a decades-long history of fighting for racial and economic justice that some Sanders supporters seem willing to dismiss — even as they promote Sanders’ civil rights advocacy. “You wouldn’t have expected this stuff to kind of break out along racial lines,” Bryant said. But those complaining about Sanders supporters and expressing fears of Clinton losing to Trump are missing the point, said Natalie Vowell, a white Sanders delegate from Missouri. Clinton, she said, just hasn’t been a positive for black Americans. “There have been more young black men imprisoned, more brown bodies piling up across the globe, and I’m not sure at this point that a warmonger like Hillary Clinton is any better than a tyrant like Trump,” said Vowell. She said she’s not yet sure if she will vote at all in November. Ohio state Rep. Alicia Reece, president of the Ohio Legislative Black Caucus and a Clinton delegate, said she heard some complaints when a few people booed Michelle Obama when she mentioned Clinton’s name Monday night. But she predicted the party would ultimately come together. “Both groups have strong feelings about what’s going on,” she said. “Even non-African-Americans are afraid of Donald Trump, not just pro-Hillary people. They know we’ve got to unite and stop Trump.” Republished with permission of the Associated Press.
Bernie Sanders’ bid reaches turning point after Northeast losses
Defeated in the Northeast, Bernie Sanders‘ movement for a political revolution is reaching a crossroads even as he vows to campaign against Hillary Clinton through the June primaries and into the Philadelphia convention. The Vermont senator said after losses to Clinton in Tuesday’s primaries in Pennsylvania, Maryland, Delaware and Connecticut that he would now seek as many delegates as possible to “fight for a progressive party platform,” acknowledging that he had only a “very narrow path” to the nomination. “Every person in this country should have the right to vote for whom they want to see as president of the United States and what they want to see the agenda, Democratic agenda, look like,” Sanders said in a phone interview with The Associated Press late Tuesday. “We are going to fight for every delegate and if I do not win, we are going to bring in a whole lot of delegates who are going to be prepared to fight for a $15 an hour minimum wage, for a Medicare for all single-payer program, guaranteed paid family medical leave … almost every delegate that we get gives us more strength in the fight for a progressive agenda.” Sanders won the Rhode Island primary, adding to his trove of more than 1,300 delegates, but his loss in New York and Tuesday’s defeats in the delegate-rich states of Pennsylvania and Maryland is likely to change the focus of his campaign from winning the nomination to one devoted to shaping the Democratic platform, Clinton’s policy agenda and his movement to address income inequality and the campaign finance system. Sanders was campaigning Wednesday in Indiana, which holds its primary next week, and looking ahead to upcoming contests in Oregon and California. He vowed to compete until the final District of Columbia primary in June. Clinton’s campaign and Democratic leaders are watching closely to see if Sanders will continue to raise issues that could damage Clinton’s chances in November or whether he will encourage his youthful following to support Clinton. “I would hope that there is a beginning of a pivot for him to make it really clear to his supporters what’s at stake against the Republicans,” said former Michigan Gov. Jennifer Granholm, who supports Clinton. Clinton’s allies note that Republican Donald Trump has been co-opting Sanders’ pitch against Clinton, which the businessman acknowledged on Wednesday. “Bernie Sanders has a message that’s interesting. I’m going to be taking a lot of things Bernie said and using it,” Trump said Wednesday on MSNBC’s “Morning Joe.” ”When he said ‘Bad judgment’ I said, ‘Soundbyte!’” Former Pennsylvania Gov. Ed Rendell said Sanders had every right to compete until the end of the primaries as Clinton did in 2008. But he expressed hope Sanders would point out their differences but “not assail her judgment or character anymore.” Rendell, a Clinton supporter, said that could undermine Sanders’ effort to address wealth inequality and campaign finance reform. “If he believes what he’s talking about, he’s got to understand that he’s got to help her by toning it down,” Rendell said. At rallies, Sanders has sent mixed signals during the past week over whether he will ease up on Clinton. He has demanded that Clinton release the transcripts of her lucrative private speeches to Wall Street and critiqued Clinton on issues like trade, the minimum wage and the war in Iraq. But in other events Sanders has largely steered clear of Clinton, focusing instead on Trump. In the AP interview, Sanders bristled when asked if he would continue to contrast his record with Clinton’s. “Of course. I’m getting attacked by Hillary Clinton and her surrogates every damn day. Every day we’re getting attacked and our record is being distorted,” he said. “We are trying to run an issue-oriented campaign and a campaign means that you talk about your record, what you believe in, as opposed to your opponent’s. That’s what Clinton does. Of course we’re going to do that,” he said. There’s also the issue of whether Sanders will urge his supporters to back Clinton. In a town hall on MSNBC on Monday night, Clinton questioned the idea that she needs to adopt parts of Sanders’ platform to win over his supporters, saying that she did not make demands when she lost the primary to President Barack Obama eight years ago. Progressive groups are pressuring Clinton and her Democratic allies to come to their side. Charles Chamberlain, executive director of Democracy for America, a liberal group backing Sanders, said Tuesday night the question isn’t whether the senator would win delegates. “It’s whether the Democratic establishment is going to bring our party together by embracing our fight,” he said. Sanders’ supporters want him to fight on. “There’s no reason he should drop out, or anyone should drop how they feel about him right now. If anything, the fact that he’s persevering at this point is inspiring,” said Maddie Harris, 17, of Parkersburg, W.Va., who attended Sanders’ West Virginia rally on Tuesday. Republished with permission of the Associated Press.
