Sanders lays out goals to transform party on day of meeting with Clinton
Bernie Sanders listed his wishes Monday to transform the Democratic Party at its convention in Philadelphia next month.
"How do we revitalize the Democratic Party?" the Democratic presidential candidate said outside his campaign headquarters in Washington, D.C. on the day of its primary, the final contest of the cycle.
First, Sanders called for the replacement of Democratic National Committee leadership. He has previously called for the replacement of current chairwoman Debbie Wasserman Schultz.
"We need at the Democratic National Convention the most progressive platform ever," he said, that would make it "crystal clear" that the party is on the side of working people, low-income people and people who have no health insurance.
Sanders also called for "real electoral reform" that would allow for open primaries in the next presidential primary cycle in which independents, in addition to registered Democrats, can choose the party's nominee. He also called for same-day registration so that anyone can walk into a polling place on the day of a primary or caucus and register to vote.
"We need major, major changes in the Democratic Party in converting it to a party of the people," said Sanders. "We need to obviously get rid of superdelegates. The idea that we had 400 superdelegates pledge to a candidate some eight months or more before the first ballots are cast is, in my mind, absurd."
While Sanders vowed to "take that fight" to the convention in July, he didn't say whether he plans to stick it out until then.
He dodged questions about why he hasn't endorsed Clinton, the presumptive Democratic nominee. At the same time, he said, "I think Donald Trump is totally unfit to be president of the United States" and suggested he will fight to ensure the presumptive GOP nominee isn't elected in November.
Reacting to Trump's remarks about his proposed Muslim ban and how to prevent attacks like the one at the Orlando nightclub Sunday morning, Sanders said, "To blame an entire religion for the acts of a single individual is nothing less than bigotry and that is not what this country is supposed to be about."
On Thursday night, Sanders will address his supporters via LiveStream from Burlington, Vermont.
"He wants to talk directly with grassroots supporters about how the revolution continues," explained Michael Briggs, Sanders' spokesman. The campaign is encouraging supporters to host house parties and tune in.
The big question will be how he chooses to portray himself to supporters then, and what he will ask of the liberal movement that has grown out of his campaign.
Sanders met with Clinton on Tuesday night, marking the first time they've met since she accrued enough delegates to clinch the nomination. The meeting was slated to start after the polls closed in Washington, D.C. Clinton was declared the winner not long after the polls closed, officially ending the 2016 Democratic primary.
