Philadelphia
Tearful Bernie Sanders supporters cheered for minutes before the Vermont senator got a word in at the Democratic National Convention Monday night. When he finally spoke, Sanders offered a reason-based endorsement of Hillary Clinton that stood in contrast to the cries of his fans.
Sanders reiterated many of the talking points he used in his campaign trail stump speeches—America’s vast income inequality, his campaign’s $27 average donation, and the danger of a Trump presidency. He thanked his 1,846 pledged delegates and admitted he was disappointed with his primary loss.
And then, without any mention of the Democratic National Committee’s recent scandal revealing favoritism toward Clinton, Sanders made a necessity-based argument on behalf of the former secretary of state.
“Hillary Clinton must become the next president of the United States,” Sanders said. “Any objective observer will conclude that.”
He was met a cacophony of cheers and some boos, as well as a standing ovation from Bill Clinton.
Sanders said his support for Clinton was due to her ability to achieve tenets of his own campaign, like raising the minimum wage and making college more affordable. In doing so, the Vermont senator emphasized his campaign’s role in moving the Democratic party further left.
The Democratic platform’s progressive stance on issues like breaking up banks and trade was a representation of party unity, Sanders said, even in the face of disagreement between him and Clinton “on a number of issues.”
“I am happy to tell you that at the Democratic platform committee there was a significant coming together between the two campaigns and we produced, by far, the most progressive platform in the history of the Democratic party,” he said.
Sanders promised to continue his leftward push despite his primary loss.
“Together, my friends, we have begun a political revolution to transform America and that revolution—our revolution—continues,” he said.
Sanders appointed five members to the Democratic platform drafting committee as a concession from former Democratic National Committee chairwoman Debbie Wasserman Schultz, after months of accusations that the DNC was tilting the election in favor of Hillary Clinton.
The Vermont senator left the scandal’s most recent development out of his convention speech: a tranche of leaked DNC emails, released in recent days, affirming his supporters’ suspicions.
One email chain revealed that DNC officials were planning on using Sanders’s alleged atheist against him, while another chain showed Wasserman Schultz calling Jeff Weaver, Sanders’s campaign manager, a “damn liar.”
The chairwoman resigned the day before the convention kick-off after mounting controversy surrounding the leak.
