Going into the convention yesterday, it looked like nothing but doom and gloom for the Democrats, at least if you were reading the morning news feed. After Vladmir Putin hacked into the DNC and Bernie Sanders appeared to lose control of his revolution after getting booed by his own delegates, the media was quick to pounce and exclaim that the Democrats were in for an ugly and tumultuous convention:
Democrats in disarray on eve of convention to nominate Clinton- Reuters
Email scandal hovers over Democratic National Convention- AP
Wasserman Schultz booed off stage in Philadelphia- The Hill
Sanders pleads with supporters to avoid protests as Democratic Unity threatened- Chicago Tribune
Bernie Sanders Says ‘Elect Hillary,’ Gets Heavily Booed- WSJ
Conventional Wisdom: The Democratic Convention Is Off To A Rocky Start- 538
Democrats Struggle for Unity on First Day of Convention- NYT
And that’s not even counting the endless right-wing outlets and arms of the RNC that were attempting to fan the fire with the hopes that protesters would Bern the entire convention to the ground. Bernie Sanders, if he actually only cared about himself, could have taken the bait. He could have not swallowed his pride, he could have pulled a Ted Cruz and merely stated “vote your conscience,” which could have been seen as a tacit endorsement of Jill Stein, or simply muttered, “we have to defeat Donald Trump.”
But he didn’t.
Bernie Sanders, with his heart focused on the future of his Revolution and everything he worked so hard for, did what he had to do, and more. Rather than just giving his supporters something to vote against in November, he gave someone to vote FOR, and it was sincere and heartfelt. His speech gave out a progressive vision that was not only his vision, and was not only Hillary Clinton’s vision, but the vision that we as Democrats all share. Economic, social, racial and environmental justice. Yes, we all have very real differences on how to get there, but as Bernie himself said, “that’s what democracy is about.”
Bernie Sanders gave Hillary Clinton and the Democrats the boost they needed, but of course he didn’t do it alone. Cory Booker, Michelle Obama, and Elizabeth Warren gave fiery visions of their own, and with that, the Democrats were able to make a stunning comeback from what started out as a turbulent convention with uncertain prospects. And the media started to take notice of this comeback:
Convention opens to boos, but Democrats salvage the night with praise of Clinton from Sanders and Warren- LA Times
Dem rising star Cory Booker delivers emotional speech, lifts crowd to its feet- CNBC
Michelle Obama’s stunning convention speech: “When they go low, we go high" -LA Times
Sanders, Michelle Obama thrill DNC with emotional speeches- AP
Democrats beat Republicans in first night TV convention audience- Reuters
Bernie Sanders Nixes Roll Call Vote At DNC in Favor of Party Unity- ABC
Clinton wins historic nomination- with a boost from Sanders- AP
The wounds of the primary have by no means gone away, but they are healing now. And for that, we owe Bernie Sanders and these Democrats a great deal of gratitude.