Sanders supporters unbowed in protest

Updated: 2016-07-26 10:56

By Chen Weihua in Philadelphia(China Daily USA)

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Thousands of supporters of Vermont Senator Bernie Sanders and Green Party candidate Jill Stein defied the 97-degree temperatures in a protest at City Hall in Philadelphia on the first day of the 2016 Democratic National Convention, which got underway fewer than 4 miles south at the Wells Fargo Center.

The Sanders supporters said they will not give up and vote for presumptive Democratic nominee Hillary Clinton, despite Sanders' endorsement. Sanders told his delegates on Monday at the convention to support Clinton, but he was booed by many of them.

Sarah Ruggiero, from Brooklyn, New York, said it is not acceptable for her to vote for Clinton.

"We cannot vote for someone whom we cannot trust, who doesn't share our values," she said.

"Hillary Clinton systematically attacked everything I believed in," said Jerry Goldstein, who came with Ruggiero. The two had campaigned heavily for Sanders in Brooklyn in the past year.

Goldstein brought up the influence of money in politics and the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP), which he said ships American jobs abroad.

He stressed that he will not vote for Clinton. "People support candidates; we represent ideas," he said.

Ruggiero said that the next few days will be telling.

"This is a revolution; it takes time, not based on one election," she said.

Like Sanders, both said they were not surprised by the email scandal over the weekend in which Democratic National Committee staffers were found working in favor of Clinton against Sanders, including questioning Sanders' religious belief and organizing news media to defame the Sanders campaign. Thousands of emails released by wikileaks.org ultimately led to the resignation on Sunday of DNC chairwoman Debbie Wasserman-Schultz.

"It was liberating, because we have been told that we are whiners, sore losers, (that) we were fringe people," said Goldstein.

"We knew all along that they were cheating. It's not surprising," Ruggiero said.

"Those who make peaceful revolution impossible will make violent revolution inevitable," said Goldstein, quoting former US president John F. Kennedy.

The massive protests on Monday were peaceful. Scores of police, many on bicycles, were watching just off the sidewalks.

It is estimated that Philadelphia will see some 35,000 to 50,000 protesters throughout this week's DNC, mostly supporters of Sanders.

Robin Reedes, from Bloomington, Indiana, drove almost 10 hours to Philadelphia on Sunday with her two brothers.

"I just want to show my disapproval for the entire primary," she said. "The way the primary has been basically taken from Bernie Sanders and handed to Hillary Clinton has been a very undemocratic process."

Sanders supporters unbowed in protest

She said the email scandal confirmed what she already believed previously. "I decided to come here months and months ago. I was angry at that time, and I am still angry now," she said.

Reedes said she understood that Sanders was endorsing Clinton for political reasons. "But I don't follow him with the endorsement," she said.

"My plan is that if Hillary is the nominee, I will vote for Jill Stein of the Green Party," she said. "The process is not democratic anymore. We have to fight for the future of democracy, and I have to be on the right side."

Waving the flag of Socialist Alternative, Daniel Keating, from Massachusetts, said dozens of people from the organization were coming to Philadelphia.

He said the organization supports Jill Stein, and members want to win over Sanders supporters.

"We are coming here to talk about how the Democratic Party is a corrupt party. We need to build a party for working people and the 99 percent," he said.

Like others, Keating was not surprised by the email controversy. "I assume that they do things like that every day, right?" he said.

The Green Party had a rally of hundreds outside City Hall on Monday afternoon, featuring people such as Cornel West, a noted African-American professor and social activist.

One of the biggest crowds on Monday was a group led by Revolt Against Plutocracy.

Standing in front of the crowd, YaNe Ndgo said they love Sanders, but at this juncture, the group is moving forward.

"We are not staying with the Democratic Party unless Bernie is the nominee," she said.

Victor Tiffany, co-founder of the organization, said he hoped that the superdelegates are smart enough to keep the door open, indicating that if not, it will help Republican candidate Donald Trump.

A CNN poll released on Monday showed that Trump led Clinton, 48 to 45 percent.

 Sanders supporters unbowed in protest

YaNe Ndgo of Revolt Against Plutocracy leads a protest on Monday outside Philadelphia City Hall in support of Bernie Sanders. Monday was the first day of the four-day 2016 Democratic National Convention at the city's Wells Fargo Center. chen weihua / china daily

Natasha Masters, a nurse from Tennessee, said she is a Sanders fan and not switching to Clinton "because I don't trust her".

The CNN poll also found that 65 percent of the people said Clinton is not honest.

She regretted that she could stay only one day in Philadelphia because she has children at home.

Drawing a huge crowd was Nina Turner, a former state senator from Ohio and a Sanders supporter.

Chatting with and signing posters for Sanders supporters, she called on people to support progressive candidates for Congress, city council and mayor.

"Please don't be discouraged, because that's what the establishment wants. Keep pushing. We know we are right," she said.

"We know Trump is dangerous, but that is not the way to win people over. You cannot win by fear; we want you to win by talking about what 'I will do for you and future generation.' That's the message I am looking for," she said.

Closer to the arena, at FDR Park, thousands of Sanders supporters shouted slogans at the delegates as they made their way to Wells Fargo Center.

chenweihua@chinadailyusa.com

(China Daily USA 07/26/2016 page1)

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