RustyNails
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'Bernie or Bust' backers to flock to Philly to protest
Bernie Sanders may have ended his battle for the White House with his endorsement of presumptive Democratic nominee Hillary Clinton, but thats not stopping thousands of his backers from planning to flock to Philadelphia next week to protest the Democratic National Convention and send a message to party leaders.
The fact that Sanders said last week he would do everything I can to help Clinton beat Republican nominee Donald Trump is not dissuading pro-Sanders protest organizers. They say Americans are frustrated with the Democratic Party establishment, and they'll still be out to protest in large numbers.
Its We the People who are going to continue to lead this revolution, said Billy Taylor, a pro-Sanders activist who was issued permits to hold rallies on each day of the convention. We are not going to vote for the demon named Hillary just because you are threatening us with the devil named Trump.
The city of Philadelphia is projecting 35,000 to 50,000 demonstrators will gather at a half dozen sanctioned protest sites near the Wells Fargo Center each day of the convention, which opens Monday. A bulk of the permits issued by the city are to groups that indicated they are inspired by the Vermont senator.
The showing for the pro-Sanders demonstrations whose organizers have received nine of the 28 permits issuedand are expected to draw the largest crowds, according to city officials estimates could perhaps provide a sense of the road Clinton has in front of her as she tries to win over some of the Sanders most rabid backers.
A Pew Research Center Poll published earlier this month found that 85% of respondents who voted for Sanders during the primaries and caucuses say they will back Clinton in the general election, while nine percent said theyd vote for Trump. Six percent say they'll vote for a third party candidate or did not know how theyll vote.
In interviews, some pro-Sanders protest organizers said they're still holding on to a thread of hope that a big showing will persuade super delegates committed to Clinton to vote for Sanders.
Short of a super delegate uprising for Sanders, organizers say they will use their protests to push for major reforms in the Democratic Partyincluding calling for abolishing super delegates in future elections, ousting Democratic National Committee chairwoman Debbie Wasserman Schultz, and pressing party leaders to push for laws that would trigger automatic voter registration for Americans when they turn 18.
Cheri Honkala, the organizer for the Philadelphia-based PPEHRC, said her groups demonstration is meant to put a spotlight on the plague of homelessness and poverty in the city. She also is planning a bean supper for Sanders delegates ahead of Clintons acceptance speech on Thursday, hoping that the bean-filled Sanders supporters will return to the Wells Fargo Center and greet Clinton with flatulence.
Kestner said he believes that if the pro-Sanders crowd attracts enough people to push the Bernie or Bust message, the super delegates will be forced to change their minds and deliver the nomination to Sanders.