The Democratic National Convention in Philadelphia got off to a chaotic start Monday, with delegates who supported Bernie Sanders booing every time Hillary Clinton’s name was mentioned.
Bernie Sanders is begging his delegates to stop disrupting the DNC
Photo by Aaron P. Bernstein/Getty Images
Libby Nelson was Vox’s editorial director, politics and policy, leading coverage of how government action and inaction shape American life. Libby has more than a decade of policy journalism experience, including at Inside Higher Ed and Politico. She joined Vox in 2014.
Sanders himself was frantically trying to get them to stop. He sent a text and an email to delegates asking them not to protest from the floor:
Here's the email version of the text Bernie Sanders sent to delegates this afternoon (via @kasie) #DemsInPhilly pic.twitter.com/zr8ZO8uQeF
— Monica Alba (@albamonica) July 25, 2016
“Our credibility as a movement will be damaged by booing, turning of backs, walking out or other similar displays,” Sanders wrote.
Some delegates either didn’t get the message or didn’t care. Over the past few months, Sanders had been energizing his supporters by telling them that victory was possible, even after it seemed mathematically highly unlikely for him to win the nomination. And at least one angry delegate said he took that message to heart:
Iowa delegate @chris_laursen: "Bernie basically fed us a bunch of Mountain Dew and now he wants us to go to bed. It’s not going to happen."
— Jason Noble (@jasonnobleDMR) July 25, 2016
By Dylan Matthews
