On Day 2, all 1,900 Sanders delegates were called together to meet in a large room at the convention center with Sanders (and the press), who urged us to unite and support Clinton. As was widely reported, resounding boos and jeers greeted him when he said this. Frustrated by much that already had gone on both inside and outside the convention, his peeps were just not down with it at the moment. He tried again at the next morning’s breakfast: “It is easy to boo, but it’s harder to look your kids in the face, who would be living under Donald Trump”. Again, not good. I know that he, and most every delegate there, sincerely wants to defeat the neofascist Trump, and I can also only imagine the immense pressure on Sanders, both internal and external, to get his crew in line. It was late in the game, however, and his supporters were hurt, bewildered and angry. A word about the TPP. This issue has become a flashpoint for the delegates because of the probability of a ratification vote on it during the upcoming lame-duck congressional session, and almost every progressive issue would be affected by it. It’s NAFTA on steroids and makes corporations more powerful than governments. President Obama and corporate interests spent years negotiating it in secret, and both Clinton and Kaine actively promoted it, but due to pressure from Sanders and progressives, the nominee and her running mate now oppose it. There are many signs that their newly found opposition is tenuous at best, and progressives are frantic to put them on watch and make sure it does not get passed. Our delegates reached out to Clinton delegates with unity petitions on the issue, and although many signed, some Sanders delegates were floored by how many did not even know what the TPP was. This was true of a DNC lawyer, as well as the press. One delegate reported that a news reporter pulled him aside as he was holding a “No TPP” sign and asked just what the TPP was. Ironically, Trump has grabbed the anti-TPP mantle and will most certainly use it against Clinton with the white males his campaign so actively seeks if she doesn’t forcefully commit to opposing it.
The Convention Itself: The Shouting Continues
Day 1 was to be Sanders’ day, yet the convention cut our beloved Sanders surrogate, Nina Turner, from the program—she had been scheduled to introduce Sanders. She is apparently considered a traitor to Clinton, whom she supported before switching to Sanders, yet this felt like a big betrayal to the delegates, as she is adored in the progressive community. If nothing else, Sanders’ army proved exceedingly nimble and resourceful, so “I’m with Nina” stickers quickly materialized and were worn by everyone who could get their hands them. Neither Tulsi Gabbard nor Jane Sanders were anywhere to be seen, and Sanders’ celebrity endorsers, such as Rosario Dawson, Susan Sarandon and Shailene Woodley, were also not included in the program, but they appeared everywhere around the hotel and convention center. This did not send a strong unity message, and delegates were agitated. Many began booing at every mention of Clinton, interrupting the speeches. It got so bad that subsequent speakers seemed to hesitate a bit before saying Clinton’s name. The media were literally crawling all over us, shoving cameras for in our faces for interviews and footage, further amplifying the chaos. They also held up “No TPP” signs, among others, and were later told that many people had Googled the TPP because of it, so signage was deemed to be quite an effective tool. In fact, The Wall Street Journal recently reported that the odds of its passage are fading, as the tide is turning against it in both parties. The story was accompanied with a photo of anti-TPP protesters in our section at the convention (yes!). Sanders arrived onstage at the end of the evening to a three-minute standing ovation, and the delegation became very emotional, tears and cheers all around. It was a bittersweet moment. Seating and access were always an issue. We would enter to find Clinton delegates admitted early and the front sections taped off or marked with “reserved” signs. We sat behind our own Mason-Dixon Line. At times, they brought in well-dressed “seat-fillers” to crowd us out. As I left early one evening, I encountered a busload of them being given credentials. With the seat-fillers, glitz and celebrity entertainment, I often felt like I was at the Oscars. On the day of the vote, with a hot microphone in front, no Sanders delegates were allowed near the area. On the last day, before Clinton’s acceptance speech (at the same time as the Lady Gaga concert across town), it became clear that Clinton delegates were told to arrive very early, were let in and then the doors shut behind them. When we arrived early (1:30 or 2 p.m.) for the convention but evidently not early enough, we were told that delegates were not allowed in until 3 p.m., clearly untrue. Several tardy Clinton delegates and I tried another entrance, and when we were told the same story, one mistook me for a fellow Clinton delegate and whispered in my ear, “At least they all got the story straight. There would be trouble if they didn’t.” After Day 1, it was decided to forgo the booing for the most part (thankfully) and pivot completely to issues, primarily because booing was ineffective and turning everyone off, but also in response to pleading from Sanders. Our leadership urged us to act with respect. TPP signs and some short bursts of noninterruptive chanting were the order of the day. By then, Clinton’s team knew the drill and began to shout over our chants of “No More War!” “No TPP!” or whatever the chant of the moment was, with cries of “HILL-A-RY!” and “USA!” In fact, they were given instructions about what chants to use to drown out ours: “No More War”—“USA” “Love is Love”—“Join them” “Walk the Walk”—“Hillary” “Stop the TPP”—“Hillary” “Ban Fracking Now”—“Hillary” “Black Lives Matter”—“Join them” To deal with this, we were counseled to chant for only seven seconds, stop when they began, and start up again when they stopped. The audience at home might have been a bit confused about the seemingly weird, spontaneous bursts of support for Hillary and country at random times during the speeches, but to us this was a combat zone. Your support matters…

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#activism#bernie sanders#delegates#democratic national convention#dissent#dnc#hillary clinton#national#politics#progressivism#protest#tpp#trans-pacific partnership#usa