Opinion: Some Hillary Clinton delegates remain displeased over ‘unity’ push
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The “unity’’ convention in Denver is over. But some Hillary Clinton delegates are back home in California stewing over what they describe as pressure from Barack Obama allies to create a false image of overwhelming support for the new Democratic presidential nominee.
The Clinton delegates say that during the four-day conclave, Obama delegates opposed efforts to schedule a full, 50-state roll call vote that would attest to Clinton’s true support. What happened instead was an abbreviated roll call vote, cut off by Clinton herself so that Obama would be nominated by acclamation.
As part of that push, some of the Clinton backers grouse, Obama supporters made plain through pointed remarks that the Clinton delegates needed to switch sides and vote for the eventual nominee.
A fair amount of that happened. The final delegate tally was 3,188.5 for Obama; 1,010.5, Clinton, according to numbers released today by the Democratic National Committee. When the primary season....
...ended in June, the tally was much closer, with Clinton trailing Obama in delegates by less than a 10% margin.
Within the huge California delegation, lots of Clinton delegates got with the program. Although she handily won the state’s primary back in February, the California convention vote -- as belatedly recorded -- was Obama, 273; Clinton, 166.
Diana Madoshi, a Clinton delegate from Rocklin, Calif., said: “It was sort of phony. We had to show all this unity. Well, if you’re pressing people to get on the same train and they’re not ready, that’s not true unity. The roll call vote should have been genuine. I don’t think it served us by it not being genuine.’’
Raymond Penko, a Clinton delegate from San Diego who campaigned door-to-door for her, said it was difficult to get Clinton signs onto the floor of Denver’s Pepsi Center. Some of the New York senator’s supporters wound up using roll-up signs that could be tucked away and smuggled into the arena, he said.
There was even discussion of using body paint to transmit pro-Clinton messages.
Added Penko: “There was pressure all around to conform to what I would call the old boys club. There was pressure to conform to the unity ticket. As soon as Obama delegates heard that one was a Hillary supporter, they would shun you, tell you to get over it, say ‘Stop being a cry baby. What’s your problem? Don’t you want to win in November?’ ’’
Both Penko and Los Angeles attorney Gloria Allred (shown above) circulated a petition for a full roll call vote. They couldn’t round up enough signatures.
Allred, a Clinton delegate well-known in Southern California for her public-relations flair, grew frustrated last week with what she saw as efforts to muzzle her and, as The Ticket noted, showed up at a delegation breakfast one morning with a gag made up of restaurant napkins.
She’s still not happy with what transpired at the Democratic gathering.
“This was a scripted convention,’’ she said earlier this week. “There really was no room for dissent for Hillary supporters. Not even room for discussion.’’
-- Peter Nicholas