Breaking News -- Bernie Delegates Storm Media Tents
**** Breaking News! ****
I am sitting in the media tent at the Wells Fargo Center, normally a pretty backwater sort of place at the Democratic National Convention. Things are generally pretty unexciting here, which is kind of the whole point. It's a place where media types can find a desk, a power supply, and some peace and quiet to write their stories up without the distractions of the convention itself, which is right next door.
However, a mild form of chaos has erupted. Almost immediately after Hillary Clinton was officially nominated by Bernie Sanders, at the end of the roll call of the Democratic delegates, hundreds of people streamed into the tent in a coordinated protest. From where I sit -- literally about fifteen feet from the action -- it seems like the aftermath of a major walkout of Bernie Sanders delegates from the floor of the convention.
I say it's a mild form of chaos because the protest (so far) has been one of the quietest I've ever witnessed, and I've been to protests of all sorts for decades, now. Most of the protesters are sitting peacefully on the floor or standing with black gags tied across their mouths. When they first entered, there were a few scattered cries ("Fire the DNC!" and whatnot), but since then they have been in small groups clustered around the widest areas of the floor.
The police presence, as you might guess, is numerous, although also fairly quiet. The cops early on realized something was going on and barricaded the doors in, preventing hundreds of other protesters from entering the media tents. I've heard that media credentials will get you in and out of the doors, but have not personally tested this yet. Delegate credentials are being barred from entry, which is kind of a turnabout of the normal status of the badges -- delegate badges normally allow you on the floor of the arena, while media have to make do with temporary 30-minute floor passes.
Nobody has any idea how this is going to end, and I have currently no way of knowing how the television networks are covering it (the only screens inside the tent merely have the straight feed of what is happening inside the arena. The show seems to be going on without pause, but inside these tents (there are actually three gigantic interconnected tents in a large air-conditioned complex) house all the major networks and other key media (print, electronic, etc.).
So we seem to be at a standstill. Caught inside, not really knowing if the protester's story is getting out, I just had to jot down a quick dispatch to get the story out. As I said, there isn't much central organization or any spokespeople in evidence, so it's not like they're making demands or anything, so all I can say at this point is that this is a developing story. I apologize for being caught without any multimedia devices (not even a digital camera) so I cannot provide any images. But it has got to qualify as the strangest thing to happen at a political convention in a long time.
I'll try to post more later, if the situation develops any further.
**** UPDATE #1 ****
The protesters have left the building. Well, "tent," to be fully accurate.
Once the cops barricaded the door, it split the protesters into two groups, one outside the tent and one inside. Through the glass doors and windows (I should mention that these are really mondo tents, three of them each the size of about half a football field), the two groups could see each other, but the cops were mostly worried about having too many people inside at the same time (fire/emergency risk). Other than that, the protesters were left alone to do whatever they wanted.
The protesters were just as polite, not interfering with any of the media tables or booths set up, as I mentioned I was sitting at a long row of tables, roughly 15 feet from the center of the protest, and was able to keep typing and doing my thing without any interference whatsoever.
I did ask one protester why they were occupying our tent, and he responded "because you've been ignoring us for a year," but even that was said fairly politely. Most of the protesters were either silent or self-gagged (literally, with black fabric gags, to make a point), so this wasn't a rowdy or raucous protest at all.
I finally tested the boundaries, and the cops politely let media come and go at will, as long as we didn't use the entrance where all the crowds were. So I strolled outside to see what was going on, and the protesters were being interviewed left and right. Their complaints were the same as the Bernie supporters' have been all week, and this was (obviously) their last chance to make a point.
After roughly a half an hour or so, they began filtering out of the tent, and the protest eventually evaporated. At its height, a few hundred were in the tent with roughly the same number outside.
From what I could tell, only a handful of the major television networks even bothered to cover it (or even noticed).
So that's the rest of the story. We were briefly -- and very peacefully -- occupied, the protesters made their point, and then dispersed.
**** UPDATE #2 ****
The Washington Post has the story of what preceded this, from inside the hall:
The orchestrated show of unity followed a rocky first day of the convention on Monday, when it became clear that some of Sanders's supporters were not ready to accept Clinton as the party's nominee despite the senator from Vermont urging them to do so.
Sanders's gesture Tuesday night clearly did not bring all of his delegates into line. Many soon exited the hall, chanting, "Walkout! walkout! walkout!" As the program continued, most of the seats in delegations from Maine, Kansas, Alaska and Oklahoma -- all states Sanders won against Clinton -- were empty.
Several Oregon delegates, meanwhile, wrapped black cloth around their jaws, as gags, and headed into the hallway of the Wells Fargo Center. There they met dozens of angry delegates from other states, including Norman Solomon, a California delegate for Sanders who had been trying to organize a new Bernie Delegates Network into just this sort of protest.
The anger of the protesters was fueled in part by leaked emails showing that some DNC staff discussed ways to help Clinton and hurt Sanders in the primaries. The party's chairwoman, Debbie Wasserman Schultz, announced her resignation Monday following the revelations.
Also, here's a bit of history, from 4 years ago and from back in the 1930s, for a tiny bit of context. Just read the Mencken quotes, if you want to see how raucous conventions used to be!
-- Chris Weigant
Follow Chris on Twitter: @ChrisWeigant
But it has got to qualify as the strangest thing to happen at a political convention in a long time.
You mean, the strangest thing to happen at a political convention since the first day of this one?
I know, it seems like ages ago ... :)
LizM -
Hah! That's a good point...
Internet connection keeps coming and going (WiFi not beefy enough for the load here), so I'm only able to connect intermittently.
So I'll file my update here, since it is working at the current moment.
UPDATE:
The protesters have left the building. Well, "tent," to be fully accurate.
Once the cops barricaded the door it split the protesters into two groups, one outside the tent and one inside. Thruogh the glass doors and windows (these are really mondo tents, three of them each the size of about half a football field, I should mention), the two groups could see each other, but the cops were mostly worried about having too many people inside at the same time (fire/emergency risk). Other than that, the protesters were left alone to do whatever they wanted.
The protesters were just as polite, not interfering with any of the media tables or booths set up, as I mentioned I was sitting at a long row of tables, roughly 15 feet from the center of the protest, and was able to keep typing and doing my thing without any interference whatsoever.
I did ask one protester why they were occupying our tent, and he responded "because you've been ignoring us for a year," but even that was said fairly politely. Most of the protesters were either silent or self-gagged (to make a point), so this wasn't a rowdy or raucus protest at all.
I finally tested the boundaries, and the cops politely let media come and go at will, as long as we didn't use the entrance where all the crowds were. So I strolled outside to see what was going on, and the protesters were being interviewed left and right. Their complaints were the same as the Bernie supporters' have been all week, and this was (obviously) their last chance to make a point.
After roughly a half an hour or so, they began filtering out of the tent, and the protest eventually evaporated. At its height, a few hundred were in the tents with roughly the same number outside.
From what I could tell, only a handful of the major television networks even bothered to cover it (or even noticed).
So that's the rest of the story. We were breifly -- and very peacefully -- occupied, the protesters made their point, and then dispersed.
That's it for now, more later....
-Chris Weigant
Too busy watching on C-SPAN which is great because I get to see the speakers and not have to hear the media tell me what to think. It's going great inside the arena!
Still confused about the point they were trying to make.
How did the DNC silence them, pray tell?
Not that I have much to add except my personal account of the evening - here are my thoughts.
I am visiting wonderful Brookings, South Dakota for work. I missed much of last night's events and catching-up online this morning. But tonight - I bailed on the evening's social event to catch the historic vote for the Dem nominee. I texted my daughter to say - turn on the TV - Hillary is just 300 votes away from the historic vote.
Well, my daughter is very much a Bernie supporter. She lives at college and there is strong support from this demographic. She tuned in and texted back "poor Bernie" - and later "I want to give him a hug". She quotes "Bye bye Bernie, I'm gonna miss you so! Bye bye Bernie, why'd you have to go oh oh oh oh ?"
But then Bernie comes out. I am choked up. I was texting friends - could he give his votes to Hillary? Is that in the rules? Then ended up doing the closest thing to that. I was texting "U-N-I-T-Y" to my friends. In my opinion, it is beyond the time to make a point, to make a political statement....we are now battling a Donald Trump presidency and we CAN NOT LET THAT HAPPEN. CAN NOT.
So how ever you feel about the "first woman for president" or the GOP sing about Hillary being "establishment" - think twice about that decisions. Frankly, I'd take "establishment" over bigotry, misogyny, racism and a conscious attempt to divide our country over our appearance, heritage, and beliefs. As Michelle said - we want someone who cares about all our children - someone who thinks about the next generation.
I might add, we want someone who doesn't just think about the next business opportunity - about another million dollars in his pocket. About someone who raises a kid who doesn't think "winning" is slaughtering a noble lion in Africa and posting such rubbish on Facebook. My hairdresser last week commented about how well The Donald raised his kids - who composed and successful they are - and all I could think was FUCK YOU.
Seriously. Do I want this guy to be a mentor for my kids? Ask yourself - do the Christian Evangelicals this this guys is better than some guy who sends a dick pict??? A guy who continuously demeans women, protects his kind, and instills fear in Americans in order to build a persona of the "strong man" ??? OMFG.
I voted for Bernie in the primary. Proud I was in that vote - with my daughter and I think my husband. But Bernie stayed in to make a mark on the platform. While not optimal, he was able to make some mark based on the votes and heart felt commitment from his supporters. But today me must move on. We must take the fight beyond ourselves. (Note - I do not assert that I have done anywhere near the sacrifices that those Bernie supporters have given to Bernie over the past year +)
Here's a bit of history, from 4 years ago and from back in the 1930s, for a tiny bit of context.
Just read the Mencken quotes, if you want to see how raucus conventions used to be!
:-)
-CW
Whoops, forgot the link:
http://www.chrisweigant.com/2012/09/12/conventional-thinking/
-CW
Washington Post has the story of what preceeded this, from inside the hall:
The orchestrated show of unity followed a rocky first day of the convention on Monday, when it became clear that some of Sanders’s supporters were not ready to accept Clinton as the party’s nominee despite the senator from Vermont urging them to do so.
Sanders’s gesture Tuesday night clearly did not bring all of his delegates into line. Many soon exited the hall, chanting, “Walkout! walkout! walkout!” As the program continued, most of the seats in delegations from Maine, Kansas, Alaska and Oklahoma — all states Sanders won against Clinton — were empty.
Several Oregon delegates, meanwhile, wrapped black cloth around their jaws, as gags, and headed into the hallway of the Wells Fargo Center. There they met dozens of angry delegates from other states, including Norman Solomon, a California delegate for Sanders who had been trying to organize a new Bernie Delegates Network into just this sort of protest.
The anger of the protesters was fueled in part by leaked emails showing that some DNC staff discussed ways to help Clinton and hurt Sanders in the primaries. The party’s chairwoman, Debbie Wasserman Schultz, announced her resignation Monday following the revelations.
@Liz,
The DNC silenced them by adopting most of their platform, giving their candidate prime speaking slots, formally apologizing, forcing the DNC chair to resign and holding a roll call vote so their delegates could vote publicly. Oh, the horror.
JL
[9] Joshua: Yep!
I think they've lost their perspective. :-)
Still don't understand why they felt "gagged" ... except for the fact, of course, that they put black tape over their mouths. Heh. That'll do it, every time.
About those leaked emails ... from what I've seen, it looks like pretty standard fare, nothing that should surprise anyone and certainly nothing that altered the democratic primary outcome, not even by a long shot.
Which brings me to another point of confusion ... why isn't anybody up in arms about the hack AND the leak itself, and the involvement of the Russians in making all of this available for public consumption.
And, don't even get me started on Julian Assange ...
Joshua and Paula,
That explains it. :)
Elizabeth: I think the hack and the leak itself is getting some real scrutiny -- FBI is investigating it. The other really important story that is growing is Trump's connections to Russian oligarchs.
The DNC email thing was a very, very weak tea. But for people looking for any reason to be outraged, it was handy. But as an issue it's fading away. Except for the forces who will use anything they can to try to damage HRC/Democrats. It will become part of their conventional wisdom, actual facts be damned.
Yes, I'll be following closely what the FBI has to say about all of this.
And now Bill is killing it! Fabulous!
He says: "one is real, the other is made up." Hell yeah.
Bill Clinton proves, once again, that he is the "explainer-in-chief".
Well, as long as he is kept busy explaining stuff, everything should be okay. :)
A good second night of Convention!
Great speech from Bill. Not his best, but even a 'B' from Bill is an 'A' from most others.
Went out to meet my old white guy buddies for beers tonight - first thing up "Wow Michelle! Why isn't she running!" Universal respect and (we are way, way too old for Barack to worry about) what a babe!
Most people, like me, probably only saw Bill tonight (streamed on Youtube when my wife drove me home - old farts beer night and she is a darling) and missed all the earlier drama. It is all about prime time!
@CW,
great reminder of mencken and how conventions used to be. i wonder how the electorate of today would respond to the political ethos of back then.
“No one ever went broke underestimating the intelligence of the American public.”
H.L. Mencken
Joshua,
Biden has a much better line than that about the American people. Which I have been reminded of after many sound decisions made by the electorate.
He often says that the American people are smart and that he puts a lot of faith in their ultimate wisdom.
This coming from a man who has not always, shall I say, been given the respect he deserves from those same American people.
Chris,
Looks like a comment vanished again.
Just wanted to say that, here in Canada, we have what is essentially automatic voter registration. We authorize Elections Canada to update voter registration records every year when we file our income tax returns. And, then, our names appear on the list where we go to vote.
And, we don't have voting machines for our national, provincial or municipal elections ... just very small paper ballots with just the names of our riding candidates on them (nationally, these Members of Parliament make up the House of Commons and we have an unelected senate), with no "down-ballot" choices to make.
Of course, we have only one tenth of the US population and manually counting ballots hand marked with a simple 'X' might be more of a challenge. But, I am sure there is something that can be learned from our very simple voting system.
Chris ... two similar comments Re. automatic voter registration in Canada caught in the blasted filter?
Based on what I saw, Fox News has been basing most of their coverage on the protests, and MSNBC has barely mentioned them. There's irony there.
CNN's coverage, in the meantime, struck me as what you'd find if E! were a political news channel. I'm pretty sure they got interviews with every star.
Paula wrote:
"The other really important story that is growing is Trump's connections to Russian oligarchs."
I know, right!? If this was the Democratic candidate, the Republicans would be screaming about it!
Where are all the Republican Conservatives??? Doesn't it bother them that both Putin of Russia and Kim Jong Un of North Korea, have both enthusiastically endorsed Trump?
Or that Trump has taken ALL the positions that Russia thinks are excellent ideas??? Like pulling the USA out of the World Trade Organization and only defending those NATO nations that meet certain spending requirements???
@JM,
yes, we should absolutely be concerned. if hillary had made such a statement about NATO you can bet fox news would be screaming to high heavens about how she wants to surrender to russia and is their corrupt lapdog.
however, being that we here at CW dotcom are more reality-based, i think it's far too early for us to make such assumptions based on limited evidence. if donald and paul manafort are taking money from russia to advance their interests, it will come out. if not, we need to presume innocence. or at least ignorance. that's not too hard.
JL
if donald and paul manafort are taking money from russia to advance their interests, it will come out.
After the election, 'natch!
just found this on RCP:
https://newrepublic.com/article/135440/mr-trump-youre-no-richard-nixon
“Open skies, open cities, open hearts, open minds.”
~Richard M. Nixon
strangely, not a wall to be found.
The Donald mangles another press conference, but a few points emerge -- he's never met Putin (previously claimed he had), he'd like it if the Russians could do some more hacking and come up with HRC's deleted emails and he will not release his taxes.
That there are people in this country who are intending to vote for this guy is beyond painful.
Gov. Mike Pence (R), released a statement distancing himself from the nominee’s words. “If it is Russia and they are interfering in our elections, I can assure you both parties and the United States government will ensure there are serious consequences,” Pence said.
“This has to be the first time that a major presidential candidate has actively encouraged a foreign power to conduct espionage against his political opponent,” Clinton adviser Jake Sullivan said Wednesday. “This has gone from being a matter of curiosity, and a matter of politics, to being a national security issue.”
Things are heating up and Trump is just Days Away From Getting Classified Intelligence Briefings...
[30] apophis: that's interesting! I wonder if Pence will wake up at some point and realize the ticking time bomb he's hitched himself to.
I think that Mr. Pence has realized that Mr. Trump is dangerous to national security and is distancing himself.
[33] How distant can you get when you're the guy's veep?
I'll bet there are people coming to him trying to figure out a way for Trump to be ousted and he, Pence, to step into the top-slot.
Paula 32
Pence is next in line if Trump bows out, so maybe he'll wait a bit in hope that The Donald goes over the cliff.
Now former CIA chief Leon Panetta has told CNN’s Christiane Amanpour that Trump’s actions call his loyalty to the U.S. into question. What’s more, Amanpour says Panetta claims Trump’s statements raise questions over whether he’s conspiring with a foreign power.
“You have a presidential candidate who is, in fact, asking the Russians to engage in American politics,” Panetta said. “I think that’s beyond the pale… he is truly not qualified to be president of the United States.”
{36} Wow. Yep.
A link for everyone:
https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/inside-trumps-financial-ties-to-russia-and-his-unusual-flattery-of-vladimir-putin/2016/06/17/dbdcaac8-31a6-11e6-8ff7-7b6c1998b7a0_story.html
It was especially heartwarming to learn that a Russian Oligarch got Trump to lend his Miss Universe contestants and himself for a music video by EMIN (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iuZUNjFsgS8). I wonder - were the contestants paid to be eye candy?
Let's see what happens if I just post the one link:
https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/inside-trumps-financial-ties-to-russia-and-his-unusual-flattery-of-vladimir-putin/2016/06/17/dbdcaac8-31a6-11e6-8ff7-7b6c1998b7a0_story.html
The other link was to the music video mentioned in the article.
[38] Balthasar: I learned the hard way you can only put one link in a post. Otherwise the post will be filtered out. Gonna check out the story you posted.
There have to be SOME rules around here, after all ...
[38] The tell: Trump’s spokeswoman did not respond to detailed written questions.
According to that article, it could have been any of Trump's top advisors who had ties, through Russian oligarchs, to the GRU, who were the hackers that set off the alarms that led to the discovery of the earlier hack of the DNC by other Russian intelligence. That material was then given to Assange, who has animosity towards Clinton, and has been strangely pro-russian himself lately.
I'd be looking very closely at Manafort himself if I were American intelligence. After all, the GRU hack came in April, just when Manafort assumed the helm of the Trump campaign and control of a 20 million dollar war chest.
[42] The plot thickens!
Wednesday’s wacky press conference.
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/donald-trump-press-conference_us_5798e994e4b02d5d5ed3d4e1?section=
That was wacky. Trump's defense reminds me of an interrogation response: "Who? Never met the guy."
Trump did a rally in Scranton, PA today, and MSNBC took the bait and ran most of it live. CNN had a very interesting panel discussion I enjoyed immensely instead.
New (rambling) article up... I'm off to Day Three... more later...
-CW
PS. filtered comments have been freed, too.
If anybody's still reading this thread...
The above post has been updated, to include what I had only until now posted here in the comments.
-CW