Sanders takes victory lap, calls for support of Clinton

Sen. Bernie Sanders Monday encouraged a raucous crowd to vote for him during the roll call Tuesday at the Democratic National Convention and then to support the Democratic Party nominee, Hillary Clinton, in the fall.

Sanders’ speech capped a day that began with protests generated by the leaking of emails showing the Democratic National Committee had favored Clinton. Supporters of Sanders chanted as several speakers addressed the convention.

Sanders started his speech with a victory lap, recounted his campaign’s successes and said, “I look forward to your votes during the roll call tomorrow night.”

He said his movement had started a revolution to transform America. He said the 2016 election is about helping reverse the decline of the American middle class and addressing income and wealth inequality. He said Wall Street greed had left the country in its worse economy since the Great Depression when President Obama came into office. He thanked Obama and Vice President Joe Biden for their leadership in pulling the country out of that situation.

Then he moved toward a call for supporting Clinton.

“By these measures, any objective observer will conclude that based on her ideas and her leadership, Hillary Clinton must become the next president of the United States,” he said.

He said he and Clinton had disagreed about issues, but the national party had produced its most progressive platform ever, including breaking up the major Wall Street institutions and opposing “job-killing trade agreements like the (Trans-Pacific Partnership).”

Sanders repeated his campaign themes. He called the current minimum wage a “starvation wage.” He said Clinton would appoint justices who would overturn the Citizens United Supreme Court decision “and end the movement toward oligarchy that we are seeing in this country.” He touted a proposal shared by the two candidates that would guarantee that the children of any family with an income of $125,000 or less could go to a public college or university tuition free. He said the campaign was about moving to universal health care.

He said he would do “all I can” to elect Clinton, saying he had known her 25 years.

House Minority Leader Michael John Gray, D-Augusta, who is attending his first convention, said the mood and energy were good and the media had overplayed the day’s divisions.

“There’s going to be some people upset,” he said. “Look, any time you put that much time and that much energy into a race and it’s not ultimately the winner, there’s some frustration, and it will take some people longer than others to deal with it, but the exciting thing about it is that they’re involved in the process.”

As for the Arkansas delegation, he said it was a “great group. All the Bernie delegates and Clinton delegates get along fine. I’d be lying if I tell you that there aren’t a couple of delegates with each camp that are probably a little more set in their ways and less willing to … ‘coalesce’ may be the right word. … For the most part, the Arkansas delegation is just happy to be here and excited.”

Skip Rutherford, dean of the Clinton School of Public Service and a longtime friend of Bill and Hillary Clinton, said after watching from his home in Arkansas, “The ending was strong. The beginning was somewhat confusing. The launch was not as smooth as I thought it would be. I think the email controversy was bigger than people thought.”

However, he said the speakers on Monday night had offered a strong program – particularly first lady Michelle Obama, who he said gave a “magnificent” speech. Other high-profile speakers included Sens. Corey Booker and Elizabeth Warren, singers Demi Lovato and Paul Simon, and actress Eva Longoria.

“The organizers and the planners of the convention have got to be much happier tonight than they were this morning,” he said.

Rutherford said he did not believe that Monday alone was enough for Sanders’ supporters to get the loss out of their system. He expects them to express themselves during the roll call Tuesday.

“He didn’t extinguish the fire. He just asked the delegates to turn their energy and win in November, but he didn’t put out the flame,” he said.