Vermont Senator Bernie Sanders didn’t exactly get the warmest reception when he met with House Democrats on Capitol Hill. One lawmaker said some members of the Democratic caucus “were visibly annoyed that he was making this about him and not about winning an election for the American people.”
After the meeting, a Congressional aide slammed the presentation Sanders gave as “lousy” and added it was filled with “platitudes and no specifics.”
Rep. Gerry Connolly (D-Va.) tried to minimize the discord on Twitter:
.@politico story is false. Bernie was respectfully received by Caucus. Some disagreements, yes, but a friendly venue
— Gerry Connolly (@GerryConnolly) July 6, 2016
Sanders was reflective and thoughtful in responses. Expressions of disagreement are NOT booing
— Gerry Connolly (@GerryConnolly) July 6, 2016
According to those who were in the room for the meeting, it lasted for 40 minutes and Sanders used most of his time to focus on the current draft of the Democratic Party platform. Sanders reportedly said he was frustrated that the platform doesn’t firmly oppose trade deals like the Trans Pacific Partnership, that the language on combating climate change isn’t stronger, and that there isn’t direct support for a $15 federal minimum wage.
But many Democrats in the room were reportedly angry that Sanders still has not endorsed Clinton. With the announcement yesterday by FBI Director James Comey that he would not recommend prosecution for the former Secretary of State’s private email server while at the State Department, some party members are wondering what is taking Sanders so long to bow out of the race since he cannot win the nomination. Rep. Joyce Beatty (D-Ohio) was quoted as asking Sanders:
“How do we unite? You are the person who has me the most frustrated.”
At the conclusion of the meeting, Sanders told the media:
“My message was a simple message: We have got to fight for the needs of the middle class and working families of this country. We got to get people involved in the political process, we got to get a large voter turnout, and if we have a larger voter turnout, Democrats will regain control of the Senate and I believe they’re gonna take the House back.”
This article was originally published by the same author at LiberalAmerica.org.