Amid boos and cheers, Sanders tells supporters to back Clinton

PHILADELPHIA — With boos and chants of “Feel the Bern,” die-hard backers of Bernie Sanders signaled on Monday that they just aren’t ready to coalesce around the presidential bid of Hillary Clinton despite his pleas.

At a raucous meeting with his most loyal supporters, the Vermont senator implored his hundreds of delegates to defeat Donald Trump in November, calling the Republican candidate a “bully and a demagogue.” He said it was imperative to elect Clinton and her running mate, Virginia Sen. Tim Kaine.

“Make no mistake. We have made history,” Sanders told the crowd. He stressed that the accomplishments and progress would be lost if Clinton doesn’t win.

The appeal elicited boos and some cheers, as delegates shouted, “We want Bernie!”

Many of Sanders’ delegates, frustrated with the primary process and furious with outgoing party chair Debbie Wasserman Schultz, were still weighing ways to disrupt the four-day event. They said they couldn’t fathom backing Clinton at the Democratic National Convention.

“To tell us to do that,” said Ryan Lopez, a California delegate, of Sanders’ request, “it goes against everything that we’re fighting for.”

Amos Miers, 39, of St. Petersburg, Florida, expressed frustration that Sanders didn’t elaborate on why they should support Clinton.

“We reject backing Hillary without some explanation,” Miers said. “We’re going to express ourselves. We’re not going to get steamrolled.”

Others said Sanders was simply pushing them to consider the long-term implications.

“I’m with Bernie. I’m following his lead. He says we’ve got to defeat Trump,” said Lawrence Hamm, a Sanders delegate from Montclair, New Jersey. “I agree with Bernie. I respect those who don’t. Strategically, at this point Trump represents the worst elements of American society.”

The meeting was held shortly before Monday’s start of the party’s convention. It also came hours after Sanders loyalists heckled Wasserman Schultz at a Florida delegation breakfast — her first appearance since her decision to step down following the release of hacked Democratic Party emails.

While Wasserman Schultz was opting not to gavel in the proceedings, her role remains a sore spot for Sanders’ delegates. Many expressed dismay that Clinton has given Wasserman Schultz the position of honorary chair of her campaign’s “50-state program.”

And the reaction to Sanders’ call for his supporters to vote for Hillary Clinton was fevered.

“I had to boo,” said Anita Lynch, a Colorado delegate. Lynch, 74, donned a shirt showing Sanders’ as a Muppet and wore a sticker that said “Bernie Stops Trump.” A longtime Democrat, Lynch said she wants to engage in some type of action on the convention floor but isn’t sure what she’ll do. “I am feeling like I want to protest.”

PHILADELPHIA MARCH

Supporters of Bernie Sanders gathered on the New Jersey side of the Ben Franklin Bridge in the sweltering heat Monday for a march into Philadelphia ahead of the opening of the Democratic convention.

The hundred or so demonstrators in Camden, New Jersey, planned to link up with hundreds more gathered at Philadelphia City Hall, and together march 4 miles down Broad Street to the arena where the convention was to set begin in the afternoon.

The protests took shape amid a punishing heat wave, with forecasters saying the temperature could hit 97 degrees Monday and feel like 105. Volunteers will be handing out water, and the city will provide misting tents for demonstrators all week.

Protesters also lined up hundreds of spray bottles to keep marchers cool and planned to make tubs of ice and towels available too.

Gary Frazier, a Camden resident and organizer with Black Men for Bernie, said the goal is to get the convention to nominate Sanders for president. If that doesn’t happen, he said, there will be a push to withdraw Sanders supporters from the Democratic Party. He said a Donald Trump presidency wouldn’t be any worse than what’s happening now.

“We want Bernie Sanders, Frazier said. “That’s the people’s choice. He was robbed of the nomination.”

At City Hall, meanwhile, demonstrators chanted, “Nominate Sanders or lose in November!”

Although planned for months, the marches came as fissures widened in the party despite weeks of effort to make a show of unity.

Debbie Wasserman Schultz resigned Sunday as Democratic Party chairwoman over leaked emails suggesting the supposedly neutral DNC had played favorites for Hillary Clinton during the primaries. The emails angered many Sanders supporters.

On Sunday, thousands of people marched along a main thoroughfare of the city to show their support for Sanders and their disdain for Clinton.

The four-day convention is being held at the Wells Fargo Center in south Philadelphia, well removed from City Hall and the skyscrapers of Center City.