Sanders Nevada Revolt Puts Democrats On Notice
Party leaders sound alarms after chaotic state convention.
By Gabriel Debenedetti and Daniel Strauss
Politico
May 16, 2016
When hotel security kicked the raucous Nevada Democratic Party convention out of the facility on Saturday night, Hillary Clinton and Democratic leaders across the country were put on notice: Expect serious turbulence before arriving in Philadelphia this summer.
For several chaotic hours, legions of Bernie Sanders’ backers lashed out in anger and frustration over Clinton’s delegate win there. The Paris Las Vegas hotel finally managed to shut down the event, but another group of angry Sanders fans descended on the state Democratic headquarters the next morning.
To the state party officials across the nation who saw videos from the convention on the Internet and on cable news Monday morning, the Nevada debacle served as a jarring reminder that the party is still a long way from united after its long slog of a primary.
“I think maybe Nevada is a little bit of a wake-up call” to party leaders, warned West Virginia Democratic Vice Chairman Christopher Regan. "If every state chair is not talking about how we can make sure that doesn't happen in our state, [for] those that have yet to go, you're just not doing your job."
In interviews with state Democratic chairs and other party leaders in roughly a dozen states — some of whom back Sanders, and some who support Clinton — the consensus is that the Nevada meltdown was an anomaly. But many worry that it might also be a harbinger of trouble at upcoming state conventions, and perhaps even the July national convention in Philadelphia.
“It is really important for [Sanders], if it’s clear to him by the time the convention starts — and that’s likely to happen — [that Clinton has won], that he send messages to his supporters through his lieutenants, through the heads of his delegations, that if Secretary Clinton has the necessary delegates, then we’ll have a roll call,” said former Pennsylvania governor and DNC chairman Ed Rendell, the convention chairman and a veteran Clinton ally, conceding that a fight over the party’s platform would still be likely.
Democrats had hoped to portray the party as a picture of unity – to contrast to what’s expected to be a messy, contentious Republican affair a week earlier in Cleveland – but those hopes are fading as some level of unrest is now expected in various state Democratic conventions in upcoming weeks.
Those concerns began surfacing in formal and informal communications on Sunday and Monday, said state Democratic officials — and it is certain to be a glaring topic of conversation later this week in Philadelphia when state party leaders gather for their quarterly meeting.
“You’ll see similar things happen in other state conventions elsewhere in the next few weeks. I don’t know if it will be to the same extent as Nevada,” predicted Ken Martin, chairman of the Minnesota Democratic-Farmer-Labor Party, noting that he had already discussed the Nevada proceedings during a meeting with his own party on Monday morning, weeks before their own convention. “I can’t imagine that tensions will be this high come late July [at the national convention]. But obviously if they are, that would be a problem."
Others express a higher degree of alarm, and hope to head off any further clashes by encouraging the Vermont senator to call for a cool-down.
“I hope Senator Sanders would understand that he is not only damaging his own reputation and standing, but also doing harm to the Democratic Party, unless he encourages his supporters to be more genteel in their protest,” said Don Fowler, the Democratic National Committee chairman from 1995 to 1997.
In Nevada, Saturday’s convention fell into disarray even after Sanders and Senate Minority Leader Harry Reid — the state’s leading Democrat — issued statements Friday urging a calm, respectful event following fraught county conventions last month.
The Vermont senator’s backers at one point shouted down California Sen. Barbara Boxer, speaking on behalf of Clinton, while protesting party chairwoman Roberta Lange’s stewardship of the event and accusing the local leadership of stacking the rules and credentials against them when some delegates — including those who were not registered Democrats — weren't accepted.
Three hours after the event was scheduled to end, hotel security stepped in to close out the proceedings but the turmoil didn’t end there. Protesting into the next day after Clinton came out on top, some angry participants posted Lange’s phone number online, spurring thousands of death threats, according to the Nevada Democratic Party.
While many of the state Democratic conventions have gone off without a hitch this year — both in states won by Clinton and by Sanders — the contentiousness surrounding Nevada had some precedent.
In Colorado’s April convention, Clinton-backing Sen. Michael Bennet was drowned out by Sanders backers chanting “change your vote,” referring to his role as a super delegate. More recently in Maine, where Sanders won the state’s caucuses by a 2-1 margin but a majority of the state’s 5 super delegates back Clinton, the Democratic convention approved a proposal forcing super delegates to proportionally align their support with the caucus results. Sanders supporters in the crowd booed and yelled “sellout” and “go back to Massachusetts” at former Congressman Barney Frank, when he called on them to unite behind Clinton.
State leaders said they can envision future gatherings getting even testier as the race drags on and as Sanders keeps winning primaries, as he is expected to do on Tuesday.
"I am a little concerned about some of the procedural stuff, but I think we're prepared to have those conversations," said Wyoming Democratic Chairwoman Ana Cuprill, explaining that she had raised security concerns while planning the convention in her state, where Sanders won the popular vote but tied in the pledged delegate count.
To the Sanders team, such worries simply mean party officials should work on finding a way to improve and clarify their procedures to be more inclusive toward supporters of a candidate who has won so many states and delegates.
“We’re still putting together the facts on what happened there at the time, but in general I can say that it would be in the Democratic Party’s best interest for its leaders to figure out a way to welcome the millions of people we have brought into Democratic Party politics this year, and make them part of the process,” said Sanders’ communications director Michael Briggs. “Smart, self-interested Democrats should figure out how to welcome those people rather than stiff-arm them."
"It’s fair for [party leaders] to figure out what happened, and to try to figure out a way to be more open and welcoming than the Nevada Democrats were for their own sake,” he added. “Whoever is the nominee of this party is going to need the support of as many people as possible, obviously, and the way to do that is to take advantage of this boom in interest that has happened because of Senator Sanders’ message resonating all across the country.”
But most state leaders who spoke with POLITICO wouldn’t commit to making changes, instead insisting, like Mississippi Democratic Chairman Rickey Cole, “If you want to participate in the process, you have to know the rules."
Accordingly, those officials are now reviewing the plans for their own state conventions or gatherings — many spent Monday checking in with their staffs about their preparation. But they say they are more concerned about how Sanders’ local fans read his campaign trail messaging, and fear that insinuations that the nominating process is rigged — not to mention Sanders’ consistent criticism of the party establishment — could lead to more unrest. They’d prefer that the senator focus more of his campaign trail ire on Donald Trump.
South Carolina Democratic Chairman Jaime Harrison floated the idea of a public event held in conjunction with Clinton, to send a message of party harmony even if both candidates remain in the race for the foreseeable future.
In the meantime, in state after state, party leaders said they were aiming to ensure calm at their state conventions by explaining the rules and opening lines of communication between Clinton and Sanders supporters.
The alternative, said Texas Democratic Chairman Gilberto Hinojosa, is a Trump presidency: “If people walk away just because they don’t get their way, it will result in the worst president in the history of the United States."
When hotel security kicked the raucous Nevada Democratic Party convention out of the facility on Saturday night, Hillary Clinton and Democratic leaders across the country were put on notice: Expect serious turbulence before arriving in Philadelphia this summer.
For several chaotic hours, legions of Bernie Sanders’ backers lashed out in anger and frustration over Clinton’s delegate win there. The Paris Las Vegas hotel finally managed to shut down the event, but another group of angry Sanders fans descended on the state Democratic headquarters the next morning.
To the state party officials across the nation who saw videos from the convention on the Internet and on cable news Monday morning, the Nevada debacle served as a jarring reminder that the party is still a long way from united after its long slog of a primary.
“I think maybe Nevada is a little bit of a wake-up call” to party leaders, warned West Virginia Democratic Vice Chairman Christopher Regan. "If every state chair is not talking about how we can make sure that doesn't happen in our state, [for] those that have yet to go, you're just not doing your job."
In interviews with state Democratic chairs and other party leaders in roughly a dozen states — some of whom back Sanders, and some who support Clinton — the consensus is that the Nevada meltdown was an anomaly. But many worry that it might also be a harbinger of trouble at upcoming state conventions, and perhaps even the July national convention in Philadelphia.
“It is really important for [Sanders], if it’s clear to him by the time the convention starts — and that’s likely to happen — [that Clinton has won], that he send messages to his supporters through his lieutenants, through the heads of his delegations, that if Secretary Clinton has the necessary delegates, then we’ll have a roll call,” said former Pennsylvania governor and DNC chairman Ed Rendell, the convention chairman and a veteran Clinton ally, conceding that a fight over the party’s platform would still be likely.
Democrats had hoped to portray the party as a picture of unity – to contrast to what’s expected to be a messy, contentious Republican affair a week earlier in Cleveland – but those hopes are fading as some level of unrest is now expected in various state Democratic conventions in upcoming weeks.
Those concerns began surfacing in formal and informal communications on Sunday and Monday, said state Democratic officials — and it is certain to be a glaring topic of conversation later this week in Philadelphia when state party leaders gather for their quarterly meeting.
“You’ll see similar things happen in other state conventions elsewhere in the next few weeks. I don’t know if it will be to the same extent as Nevada,” predicted Ken Martin, chairman of the Minnesota Democratic-Farmer-Labor Party, noting that he had already discussed the Nevada proceedings during a meeting with his own party on Monday morning, weeks before their own convention. “I can’t imagine that tensions will be this high come late July [at the national convention]. But obviously if they are, that would be a problem."
Others express a higher degree of alarm, and hope to head off any further clashes by encouraging the Vermont senator to call for a cool-down.
“I hope Senator Sanders would understand that he is not only damaging his own reputation and standing, but also doing harm to the Democratic Party, unless he encourages his supporters to be more genteel in their protest,” said Don Fowler, the Democratic National Committee chairman from 1995 to 1997.
In Nevada, Saturday’s convention fell into disarray even after Sanders and Senate Minority Leader Harry Reid — the state’s leading Democrat — issued statements Friday urging a calm, respectful event following fraught county conventions last month.
The Vermont senator’s backers at one point shouted down California Sen. Barbara Boxer, speaking on behalf of Clinton, while protesting party chairwoman Roberta Lange’s stewardship of the event and accusing the local leadership of stacking the rules and credentials against them when some delegates — including those who were not registered Democrats — weren't accepted.
Three hours after the event was scheduled to end, hotel security stepped in to close out the proceedings but the turmoil didn’t end there. Protesting into the next day after Clinton came out on top, some angry participants posted Lange’s phone number online, spurring thousands of death threats, according to the Nevada Democratic Party.
While many of the state Democratic conventions have gone off without a hitch this year — both in states won by Clinton and by Sanders — the contentiousness surrounding Nevada had some precedent.
In Colorado’s April convention, Clinton-backing Sen. Michael Bennet was drowned out by Sanders backers chanting “change your vote,” referring to his role as a super delegate. More recently in Maine, where Sanders won the state’s caucuses by a 2-1 margin but a majority of the state’s 5 super delegates back Clinton, the Democratic convention approved a proposal forcing super delegates to proportionally align their support with the caucus results. Sanders supporters in the crowd booed and yelled “sellout” and “go back to Massachusetts” at former Congressman Barney Frank, when he called on them to unite behind Clinton.
State leaders said they can envision future gatherings getting even testier as the race drags on and as Sanders keeps winning primaries, as he is expected to do on Tuesday.
"I am a little concerned about some of the procedural stuff, but I think we're prepared to have those conversations," said Wyoming Democratic Chairwoman Ana Cuprill, explaining that she had raised security concerns while planning the convention in her state, where Sanders won the popular vote but tied in the pledged delegate count.
To the Sanders team, such worries simply mean party officials should work on finding a way to improve and clarify their procedures to be more inclusive toward supporters of a candidate who has won so many states and delegates.
“We’re still putting together the facts on what happened there at the time, but in general I can say that it would be in the Democratic Party’s best interest for its leaders to figure out a way to welcome the millions of people we have brought into Democratic Party politics this year, and make them part of the process,” said Sanders’ communications director Michael Briggs. “Smart, self-interested Democrats should figure out how to welcome those people rather than stiff-arm them."
"It’s fair for [party leaders] to figure out what happened, and to try to figure out a way to be more open and welcoming than the Nevada Democrats were for their own sake,” he added. “Whoever is the nominee of this party is going to need the support of as many people as possible, obviously, and the way to do that is to take advantage of this boom in interest that has happened because of Senator Sanders’ message resonating all across the country.”
But most state leaders who spoke with POLITICO wouldn’t commit to making changes, instead insisting, like Mississippi Democratic Chairman Rickey Cole, “If you want to participate in the process, you have to know the rules."
Accordingly, those officials are now reviewing the plans for their own state conventions or gatherings — many spent Monday checking in with their staffs about their preparation. But they say they are more concerned about how Sanders’ local fans read his campaign trail messaging, and fear that insinuations that the nominating process is rigged — not to mention Sanders’ consistent criticism of the party establishment — could lead to more unrest. They’d prefer that the senator focus more of his campaign trail ire on Donald Trump.
South Carolina Democratic Chairman Jaime Harrison floated the idea of a public event held in conjunction with Clinton, to send a message of party harmony even if both candidates remain in the race for the foreseeable future.
In the meantime, in state after state, party leaders said they were aiming to ensure calm at their state conventions by explaining the rules and opening lines of communication between Clinton and Sanders supporters.
The alternative, said Texas Democratic Chairman Gilberto Hinojosa, is a Trump presidency: “If people walk away just because they don’t get their way, it will result in the worst president in the history of the United States."
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