By Brent Griffiths
PHILADELPHIA — They booed a prayer, a congressman, and at least one U.S. senator. During the early moments of the 2016 Democratic National Convention, a vocal contingent of Bernie Sanders supporters made their feelings known.
Iowa delegates disputed just how much they or their fellow state Democrats joined in the obvious sign of protest. But at least one Sanders delegate left the night saying that the stakes are too high for him to stay home in November.
“If it was Bernie Sanders who got the nomination, I would have been working from a positive point view,” said Brent Oleson of Marion. “The stakes are still the same. I see it differently than maybe some other Sanders supporters, such as those outside protesting, do right now.”
Even Sanders himself evoked anger among his supporters. At a rally held for the 1,900 delegates, the self-described democratic-socialist implored his supporters to back former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton in November.
“We have got to defeat Donald Trump, and we have got to elect Hillary Clinton and Tim Kaine,” Sanders said, according to reports.
The displeasure of some Sanders loyalists with even the mere mention of Clinton registered throughout the Wells Fargo Center. Rep. Marcia Fudge, D-Ohio, the chairwoman of the convention who replaced the embattled Debbie Wasserman Schultz, seemed to finally have enough of the interruptions.
“I intend to be fair,” she said amid a chorus of boos. ”I want to hear the varying opinions. I want to be respectful of you, and I want you to be respectful of me. We are all Democrats, and we need to act like it.”
Later on in the night, after tensions had cooled a little bit, comedian Sarah Silverman, a Sanders surrogate during the primaries, put the spectacle in blunt terms.
“To the Bernie or bust crowd, you’re being ridiculous,” said Silverman, a two-time Emmy winner. In response, another round of Bernie chants were matched by Clinton supporters as Minnesota Sen. Al Franken, a “Saturday Night Live” alum who joined Silverman on stage, looked on.
Key backers for both Sanders and Clinton hinted at the possible division throughout the day and night as they appealed for unity.
“Just as we watched LeBron James and Steph Curry shake hands after a well-fought finals, we know the country is eager to watch these two giants move forward together,” said Wellington Webb, a former Denver mayor and a Clinton endorser.
But the biggest messenger of all was Sanders himself. In a setting not unfamiliar to those who have followed the 74-year-old around, the champion of political revolution’s “America” ad played on the screens atop the convention stage. And as Sanders stepped out to greet his supporters, blue signs adorned with the image of the Bernie bird littered the audience.
Small shouts of “we are still with you Bernie,” came down from the cheap seats, but once again, Sanders iterated his support for Clinton.
“… Any objective observer will conclude that — based on her ideas and her leadership — Hillary Clinton must become the next president of the United States,” Sanders said to rousing applause from his loyalists and Clinton supporters.
Zach Wahls, an Iowa delegate for Clinton, said Sanders made a compelling argument on why his fans should stick with Clinton this fall.
“He talked clearly about the stakes,” Wahls said. “He talked about the Supreme Court, income inequality, climate change … it was clearly a multifaceted, full-throated endorsement.”