Via the Idaho Statesman:
Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders, who met with his delegates privately at the Pennsylvania Convention Center Monday, told his supporters that the Democratic Party “needs Clinton to defeat Trump.”
This was met with resistance as delegates cried out “no!” and “we want Bernie!”
Later Monday, on the floor of the convention, Sanders’ supporters were asked to be respectful after chanting and booing during opening speeches.
“I thought that was tasteless,” Idaho Clinton delegate Caitlin Lister said of the Sanders supporters.
After Sanders’ campaign sent out a text message asking delegates to stop, said Lister, the crowd was much calmer.
“Some people feel there is a little bit of selling out, but I don’t think that’s it.” Lister said. “I think it’s seeing the big picture.”
Tears streamed down the face of Chelsea Gaona-Lincoln, a Sanders delegate from Caldwell, as Sanders took the stage Monday night.
But she said it’s time for her and other Sanders delegates to look at the big picture. She called Sanders’ revolution a “distance race.”
“Bernie started (the revolution) and passed much of the baton in the most progressive platform onto Secretary Clinton,” she said. “If those that truly support Sen. Sanders’ vision … want to see that platform come to fruition, it will take party engagement.”
Idaho Democratic Party Chairman Bert Marley is a Sanders-pledged superdelegate, but said he realizes that politics is about compromise.
“The conventions are always about showcasing the nominee,” Marley said, “and despite some of the conversations, Hillary is the nominee.”