Enough is Enough

Also known as

“Hell no, DNC, We won’t vote for Hillary”

A summary of one day outside the Democratic National Convention.

It’s clear that Bernie Sanders conceded the nomination, and called for Hillary Clinton to be the Democratic nominee.  It’s  unclear what will happen in the next couple days; clearly the Convention will reconvene tomorrow.  It’s also unclear what it means for the Sanders delegates, inside, who walked out of the convention in protest, and what it means for the Sanders supporters outside.

Earlier, outside, several thousand – a disappointing number in some sense – of Bernie supporters (and very few Hillary supporters – I saw maybe less than a dozen) gathered.   It was disorganized: it was unclear where things were happening, and when.  People came from campgrounds and hotels far away to stand in the heat, the humidity  (and yesterday the rain, thunder, and lightning).

There was also lots of media – mostly independent media, but late in the evening I think I saw network cameras filming people.  I was asked by three very diverse, strange, media to give interviews.  I got very frustrated with the first one, which wouldn’t tell me who owned his company or what kind of viewpoint it had.  He eventually   asked me why I liked Bernie – I gave him a strange look and said I liked Bernie’s policies.  The second just wanted to talk about what I thought of Citizens United.  Duh!  (Worst thing since un-sliced cheese).  The third asked me why I’m Bernie for Bust, and who I would vote for  if Clinton got the nominee (she hadn’t gotten it yet).  I admitted I didn’t know, but talked about why I’m not enthused with Clinton, and that lots of voters had been stricken from the rolls – mostly, perhaps all, Bernie supporters – just after the Clinton campaign appeared to have profited from a breach in NGP VAN (voterbuilder) last autumn.  It clearly hasn’t been a fair campaign.

So what will happen with all of the Bernie supporters?  People have been asking a lot.  If I had a magic ball I’d make a lot of money.  It’s clear from the signs people were carrying that the second option is Jill Stein of the Green Party.  Her platform, and the Green Party’s platform, is very much like Bernie’s, and she’s considered the other progressive running for president.  But Stein is not on the ballot in every state.

As my esteemed grandmother, who, if she was alive, would likely be Feeling the Bern, would say, more will be revealed.