Bernie Sanders might be dumping the Democratic Party and heading back to Vermont, but the party is still stuck with Bernie’s angry supporters, who have done their best to undermine law and order at the convention, from staging walkouts to berating Hillary’s delegates as they walk into the Wells Fargo center.
Bernie bros screaming "Fuck you!" as I walk by. #DNC #demsinphilly pic.twitter.com/tFuIusKBVv
— High On Hillary (@highonhillary) July 25, 2016
On Wednesday night, though, the “Bernie Bros” are reportedly planning their biggest disruption yet, as Clinton’s presumptive vice president, Tim Kaine, takes the stage.
Disappointed that she didn’t pander to the progressives with her pick for second in command, Sanders delegates are declaring a “political revolution,” according to pamphlets being handed out at pro-Bernie DNC protests this morning.
Speaking to media earlier in the week, Sanders delegate organizer Norman Solomon declared that there was widespread sentiment among Bernie delegates that something had to be done: “There’s serious interest right now and exploration as we speak of a formal challenge.”
But Wednesday’s official nomination went off without a hitch.
Tim Kaine has been officially nominated as vice-presidential candidate. There were a small number of Sanders-supporter dissenters.
— Daniel Dale (@ddale8) July 27, 2016
Sanders delegates blamed the lack of controversy on the DNC, saying that the Democrats had failed to provide the opposition with the proper paperwork to file a challenge. They are reportedly planning other acts of “disobedience” during Kaine’s speech Wednesday night.
They’re already trying to rile up Sanders supporters. Accompanying the Wednesday morning’s protest agenda was a pamphlet with information on Tim Kaine’s “disturbing” support for the Trans-Pacific Partnership, as well as dismal poll numbers, indicating a dearth of support among Sanders allies.
Of the 285 Sanders delegates, around 250 consider Kaine “unacceptable,” according to the pamphlet that was being passed around. That, according to Sanders delegates, sent a bad message to what they believe should be a respected movement within the party.
“It’s a form of Hillary Clinton saying to the Bernie Sanders constituency, ‘Screw you,’ because we think we have enough of you,” Solomon told media. Another delegate told POLITICO: “He’s not exactly the person that could represent the hopes and aspirations of the base in the Democratic Party in Iowa and of the grassroots that is loosely organized and could have been voting en masse.”
Sanders delegates seem to prefer Elizabeth Warren and even Martin O’Malley over the Virginia Democrat, and they says don’t plan to accept the snub quietly. But while Sanders supporters have planned disruptions every night of the convention, the DNC has been heading them off during prime time. Wednesday night may be the true test of the DNC’s extensive unity efforts.
