Delegates To The DNC Instructed Not To Boo
Philadelphia (CBS) - Mike Opelka, an Editor at the Blaze, discussed an email sent to the whips of each state at the Democratic National Convention asking their delegations not to jeer speakers as supporters of Bernie Sanders continue to disrupt the first day of events at the Wells Fargo Center.
Opelka told Rich Zeoli on Talk Radio 1210 WPHT that senior party officials want to limit the amount of discontent following the release of internal party emails from Wikileaks that senior members of the DNC coordinated their efforts with Hillary Clinton's campaign.
"The whips for each state...got a memo from the DNC today that basically said no booing. They better be no booing...Keep it in line. Keep the respect for the convention and control your delegation. Basically, meaning no booing. They all got the same email."
However, he is not sure Sanders delegates will yield to the demands of party leaders.
"The Sanders people are really mad. The last two mornings, I've attended press conferences for what they call the Bernie Delegate Network...There are 1300 of them out of the almost 1900 who are not happy at all. They don't like Kaine. They don't like what was done to Bernie and they're really ticked off about the Wikileaks stuff, specifically attacking Bernie's faith and trying to drag him through the mud."
Opelka said that Sanders supporters confronted DNC Chair Debbie Wasserman-Schultz, who has announced she will resign at the end of the convention because of what was revealed in the email leak, at a delegate breakfast before the convention began.
"All of a sudden, the room erupted. She walked in. Debbie Wasserman-Schultz walked in, unannounced, took a seat on the dais, at the front of the room and the Sanders people exploded. They were ready for her. They had signs that read 'Email,' they had signs that read, 'Thanks for the help, Debbie.' Then they started booing uncontrollably."
He also reported that it was President Obama that pressured the Congresswoman from Florida to leave her post.
"The White House put its thumb on the scale yesterday. They got a call first from the White House. Obama himself, we're told, had to convince her to step down. As of this morning, she was still going to gavel in the convention but for that breakfast."
