After giving an unequivocal endorsement of Clinton two weeks ago, Sanders has struggled to convince some of his most ardent supporters that the fight is over. Sanders’s team has apparently asked his delegates not to disrupt the convention, but if the convention’s early moments are any indication, they aren’t listening.
On Sunday, some Sanders supporters borrowed the unofficial theme of the RNC—“Lock her up”—while marching in Philadelphia. And on Monday, Sanders delegates from California repeatedly booed when Clinton’s name came up at a breakfast gathering.
Leader of CA Bernie delegates says Bernie staff want them to tamp down protests, but Bernie delegates don't "take marching orders"
— Pema Levy (@pemalevy) July 25, 2016
Then, in the early afternoon, Sanders himself got booed for several seconds after telling his supporters, “We have got to elect Hillary Clinton.”
.@BernieSanders booed telling supporters to help elect Clinton: "This is the real world that we live in." https://t.co/8jV2wUWtiK
— ABC News Politics (@ABCPolitics) July 25, 2016
It was quite a moment, especially when Sanders, hand raised, told his supporters, “We have to live in the real world.” Some are already blaming the Sanders campaign for giving its voters unrealistic expectations, and accusing Sanders of not doing enough to rein in his supporters. There’s no doubt that the Democratic Party, like the Republican Party, has not entirely congealed around its candidate. But it’s also easy to overstate the impact of the Bernie or Bust crowd based on the convention: Ninety percent of Sanders supporters plan to vote for Clinton in November. The loudest voices in the room aren’t always the most representative, and that’s almost certainly going to be the case in Philadelphia.
The meeting ended on a positive note, however, with the crowd chanting, “Thank you, Bernie!” Sanders will have another chance to win over his coalition when he addresses the DNC this evening.