Category: Politics

{Hillary Clinton becomes the first woman to lead a major party towards the White House as Democratic nominee.}

The Democratic Party has made history by nominating Hillary Clinton to run for US president as the first woman to head a major party’s presidential ticket.

Speaking via video link from New York after her nomination on Tuesday night, Hillary Clinton told the Democratic National Convention in Philadelphia that she was honoured to have been chosen as the party’s nominee.

“I am so happy. It’s been a great day and night. What an incredible honour that you have given me. And I can’t believe that we’ve just put the biggest crack in that glass ceiling yet. Thanks to you and everyone who has fought so hard to make this possible,” she said.

“And if there are any little girls out there, who have stayed up late to watch, let me just say: I may become the first woman president, but one of you is next.”

Delegates erupted in cheers throughout the roll call of states on the floor of the convention earlier in the evening.

“She’s got it. She has the numbers that are needed,” Al Jazeera’s James Bays said from the convention when Clinton passed the 2,383 votes needed to secure the nomination.

“We knew this was going to happen because obviously we knew she was the presumptive nominee and that she had all the votes that she needed from the primaries. But what happened here was a roll call, state by state announcing their votes. How many for Bernie Sanders. How many for Hillary Clinton. And a great deal of drama in the room,” Bays said.

‘The best darn change maker’

In nominating Clinton, delegate after delegate at the convention made the point that the selection of a woman was a milestone in America’s 240-year-old history. US women got the right to vote in 1920.

Clinton promises to tackle income inequality and rein in Wall Street if she becomes president, and is eager to portray Republican Party presidential nominee Donald Trump, a billionaire businessman and former reality TV show host, as too unstable to sit in the Oval Office.

Trump, who has never held elective office, got a boost in opinion polls from his nomination at the Republican convention last week and had a 2-point lead over Clinton in a Reuters/Ipsos opinion poll released on Tuesday.

After the roll call of states formalising Clinton’s nomination, former President Bill Clinton took the stage for a history-making appearance of his own convention. Former presidents often vouch for their potential successors, but never before has that candidate also been a spouse.

Telling the story of their life together, the former president summed up his wife: “She’s the best darn change maker I’ve ever met.”

He also gave a spirited defence of his wife’s tenure as secretary of state, telling the convention that Hillary Clinton was instrumental in protecting American interests, combating terrorism and advancing human rights.

She put “climate change at the centre of our foreign policy” and “backed President Barack Obama’s decision to go after Osama bin Laden,” the former president said.

Political analyst Bill Schneider told Al Jazeera: “There was a clear message [in Bill Clinton’s speech] – one word: Change. A very important word because voters don’t believe she is the candidate of change. They think she is the candidate of the status quo.”

{{Healing deep divisions}}

Clinton’s campaign now hopes to move past the dissent that marked the convention’s opening day on Monday when supporters of Bernie Sanders, Clinton’s primary rival, repeatedly interrupted proceedings with boos and chants of “Bernie”.

Sanders took the DNC podium on Monday to urge his supporters to come together and vote for Clinton.

Delegates erupted in cheers as Sanders helped to make Clinton’s Tuesday night victory official when the roll call got to his home state of Vermont – an important show of unity for a party trying to heal deep divisions.

“I move that Hillary Clinton be selected as the nominee of the Democratic Party for president of the United States,” Sanders declared, asking that it be by acclamation.

Sanders’ endorsement was a striking parallel to the role Clinton played eight years ago when she stepped to the microphone on the convention floor in support of her former rival, Barack Obama.

Not all Sanders supporters were as conciliatory.

A large group signalled their displeasure with Clinton’s nomination by walking off the convention floor and holding a demonstration at the nearby media work space, Al Jazeera correspondent Kimberly Halkett said.

Holding a sit-in inside the media tent, several Sanders supporters had their mouths taped shut to symbolise their lack of voice at the convention.

“Essentially what they are trying to say is that the media is responsible for squashing their voice throughout this nominating contest. In some way influencing the results and as a result what they are calling this protest is ‘no voice, no unity’. They feel this process, this nominating contest, was not democratic,” Halkett said.

Rashane Handy, 25, a single mother from Kansas who took part in the protest, said she felt that the party had pressured Sanders supporters to support Clinton by holding up the spectre of a victory for Donald Trump if they don’t get behind Hillary.

“I’m tired of being misrepresented. We need progressives on the ballot. Our healthcare is suffering and our education is suffering. Sanders didn’t just bring out political people; he brought out people like me, single [mothers], black people, Latinos. If we vote for Hillary, we’d be voting for the lesser of two evils,” Handy told Al Jazeera.

Earlier in the night, it looked like the dispute between the Sanders and Clinton supporters had turned a corner.

“In many ways, the person who managed to unite the party was the one who started his movement and then had to actually calm down the people that he ignited, and that was Bernie Sanders,” Al Jazeera’s James Bays said.

“I think Bernie Sanders and the speech of Michelle Obama, the first lady, brought a degree of unity that certainly wasn’t here at the beginning of day one. Yes, there are still people who feel hurt by what’s happened. There are still people who are going to continue not supporting Hillary Clinton but I think they look like they’ve won over the majority.”

Speaking at the convention’s opening on Monday, the first lady announced her support for Clinton. She also offered a thinly veiled jab at Trump while discussing how her family has had to adapt to the shrill tone of today’s politics.

“We insist that the hateful language they hear from public figures on TV does not represent the true spirit of this country,” Obama said.

{Democratic National Committee chair announces resignation as fallout of leaked emails deepens on eve of convention.}

Philadelphia, Pennsylvania – On the eve of the Democratic National Convention, party members grappled to contain a crisis brought about by a trove of leaked emails that confirmed suspicions the party was biased against former presidential candidate Bernie Sanders.

As the fallout continued, Democratic National Committee Chairwoman Debbie Wasserman Schultz said on Sunday that she would step down after the convention, which begins Monday.

Her tentative resignation came after emails, leaked by Wikileaks, seemed to confirm allegations by Sanders’ campaign that the party was secretly supporting presumptive nominee Hillary Clinton.

The incident will most likely widen the chasm between supporters of the two camps, as Clinton vies for their support the week she is to be officially nominated as the party’s presidential candidate.

Earlier on Sunday, Schultz was taken off the speakers’ list for the convention – a clear snub and a rarity for any party chair. Pressure on Schultz increased further after Sanders called for her resignation.

Later on Sunday, Sanders issued a statement saying that by resigning, Schultz “made the right decision for the future of the Democratic Party”.

“The party leadership must also always remain impartial in the presidential nominating process, something which did not occur in the 2016 race.”

{{Pro-Sanders rallies}}

Meanwhile, thousands of Sanders’ supporters assembled in Philadelphia on Sunday to march from city hall to a nearby park, voicing their anger over they said was a clear attempt at sabotaging the Sanders campaign.

“The short-term fallout is [that] Wasserman Schultz is marginalised at the convention and is out of office very soon,” said David Meyer, professor of political science at UC Irvine.

“She will probably continue to hold her seat in the House of Representatives though. But nobody is surprised that the party favoured Clinton.”

Democrats are also scrambling to unite their front: Clinton and Sanders supporters agreed to form a “unity commission” to limit the role of superdelegates – those who are not bound to vote as per primary results – in the next election cycle.

This was a point of contention in the lead up to the DNC: Sanders won a high number of primaries and caucuses, but superdelegates – party members free to back the candidate of their choice – still voted for Clinton.

Democrats are also scrambling to unite their front: Clinton and Sanders supporters agreed to form a “unity commission” to limit the role of superdelegates – those who are not bound to vote as per primary results – in the next election cycle.

This was a point of contention in the lead up to the DNC: Sanders won a high number of primaries and caucuses, but superdelegates – party members free to back the candidate of their choice – still voted for Clinton.

Clinton has hurdles to overcome this week, one of which is “consolidating the base on the one hand and reaching out to the general electorate on the other hand,” Meirick told Al Jazeera.

“I think that Clinton up to this point has embraced the Obama legacy and has not really addressed political shakeups of the system per se.”

Philadelphia is meanwhile bracing for a round of protests throughout the four-day Democratic National Convention, where delegates are converging to formally nominate Clinton as their presidential candidate.

More than 50,000 people are expected to arrive in the city, including various disparate groups that will demonstrate for different causes, among them legalising marijuana, poverty and homelessness, policing and environmental issues.

At least one group will attempt to hold the world’s largest “fart-in” by having a large bean meal shortly prior, in protest against the “rhetorical flatulence of Hillary Clinton”, according to local activist Cheri Honkala of the Poor People’s Economic Human Rights Campaign.

“The idea behind this is that this whole process stinks, and that we can’t have a revolution under any corporate control of either political party,” Honkala told Al Jazeera.

“I know that the Democratic Party doesn’t give a damn about people in this country, and no way would they have given an independent socialist [Senator Bernie Sanders] control over it.”

Philadelphia City officials are preparing for potentially rowdy demonstrations, as more than 20 protest permits have been issued. The police force has 5,200 members, but the mayor’s office would not disclose to Al Jazeera how many of those would be dispatched to ensure law and order.

The last time Philadelphia hosted a national convention in 2000, nearly 400 people were arrested, some pre-emptively, when police raided a warehouse where protesters had gathered to prepare for demonstrations.

Philadelphia is meanwhile bracing for a round of protests throughout the four-day Democratic National Convention, where delegates are converging to formally nominate Clinton as their presidential candidate.

More than 50,000 people are expected to arrive in the city, including various disparate groups that will demonstrate for different causes, among them legalising marijuana, poverty and homelessness, policing and environmental issues.

At least one group will attempt to hold the world’s largest “fart-in” by having a large bean meal shortly prior, in protest against the “rhetorical flatulence of Hillary Clinton”, according to local activist Cheri Honkala of the Poor People’s Economic Human Rights Campaign.

“The idea behind this is that this whole process stinks, and that we can’t have a revolution under any corporate control of either political party,” Honkala told Al Jazeera.

“I know that the Democratic Party doesn’t give a damn about people in this country, and no way would they have given an independent socialist [Senator Bernie Sanders] control over it.”

Philadelphia City officials are preparing for potentially rowdy demonstrations, as more than 20 protest permits have been issued. The police force has 5,200 members, but the mayor’s office would not disclose to Al Jazeera how many of those would be dispatched to ensure law and order.

The last time Philadelphia hosted a national convention in 2000, nearly 400 people were arrested, some pre-emptively, when police raided a warehouse where protesters had gathered to prepare for demonstrations.

Last year, the city hosted Pope Francis, drawing more than a million visitors, without any major security incidents.

Barricades are already up outside the Wells Fargo Centre, where the convention is being held, and high-calibre guests will be speaking, including US President Barack Obama, First Lady Michelle Obama and former president Bill Clinton.

“For security reasons, all we can say is that we also have specialised units involved, and a security parameter will be put in place around the main event centre,” said Lauren Hitt, communications director for Philadelphia’s mayor.

“We want to make sure that people are able to exercise their expression of the First Amendment safely.”

{Former candidate for the Democratic nomination urges party unity in speech at the Democratic convention in Philadelphia.}

Philadelphia, Pennsylvania – To both tears and cheers, former presidential nominee Bernie Sanders took the podium at the Democratic National Convention to urge his supporters to come together and vote for Hillary Clinton, telling them they cannot “sit out” the election.

Amidst a hearty welcome and a sustained applause that lasted almost three minutes, Sanders told his followers that Clinton “must become the next president of the United States,” and urged unity.

Sticking carefully to his script, the Vermont senator painted a picture of a dark America should Donald Trump, the Republican nominee, win the elections in November.

“Take a moment to think about the Supreme Court justices that Donald Trump would nominate and what that would mean to civil liberties, equal rights and the future of our country,” he warned the crowds clad in T-shirts and waving signs bearing his name.

While clutching his hands to articulate togetherness, Sanders spoke about both camps working to create the party’s “most progressive platform,” which now included anti-Wall Street provisions and opposition to “job-killing free trade agreements like the Trans-Pacific Partnership”.

Amidst shouts of “Bernie, Bernie,” he acknowledged that the primary season had divided the party, which was recently hit with an email leak that showed Democratic National Committee Chairwoman Debbie Wasserman Schultz expressing favouritism to Clinton.

“I understand that many people here in this convention hall and around the country are disappointed about the final results of the nominating process,” Sanders said.

“I think it’s fair to say that no one is more disappointed than I am. But to all of our supporters – here and around the country – I hope you take enormous pride in the historical accomplishments we have achieved.”

{{Democrats divided}}

Throughout the night, party speakers attempted to bridge the schism that had been brewing over time. Comedienne Sarah Silverman admonished Sanders supporters, calling them “ridiculous,” before introducing Paul Simon with his 1970 classic ‘Bridge over Troubled Water’.

Earlier on Monday, the divide within the party was apparent when supporters, angered by the Democratic National Committee’s treatment of their candidate of choice, drowned out speakers with shouts, and even ignored appeals by Sanders himself to unite for the sake of the party.

Efforts to avoid signs of discord on the first day of the DNC intensified on the convention floor, as Sanders delegates chanted his name, prompting his campaign to send an email urging them not to walk out and warning that it could damage “our credibility as a movement”.

Some Sanders allies even shouted “lock her up,” an echo of the sentiments voiced by Republicans at their own national convention in Cleveland just last week.

Trying to pacify the Vermont senator’s supporters, the party’s leadership issued a formal apology for the “inexcusable remarks made over email”.

{{POLL – Most Americans fear election of Clinton or Trump}}

Schultz had resigned on Sunday, but earlier today, after she was heckled trying to speak at a Florida delegation breakfast, she also gave up her right to gavel open the convention.

That did not seem to sway the delegations; at one point Sanders himself was met with a cacophony of boos, followed by chants of “We want Bernie,” as he addressed a rally and urged his followers to elect Clinton and her vice presidential candidate Tim Kaine.

Prominent Democratic elected officials, who supported Sanders in the primaries, however, said that despite the discord over the leaked emails, the party had come a long way and achieved a milestone.

“Sanders and Clinton came together to write the most progressive platform that we have ever had,” Congressman Keith Ellison of Minnesota told Al Jazeera. “I’m feeling confident that we’re going to be united.”

Some of Sanders supporters were not ready to hear calls for unity or voting for Clinton. Daniel Martin-Mills, who came to Philadelphia from Michigan, said that he would not vote for Clinton, even if it means it would give Donald Trump an edge.

“I don’t believe that Hillary Clinton has anyone’s interest in mind but her own,” he said. “If she were elected, it would be a tragedy for our nation. I think she would sell us out for her own gain.”

“I don’t care for Trump either, but there’s no way in the world I would vote for Hillary. It won’t be my fault (if he wins). I vote my conscience and there are more than two choices. I’d vote for Jill Stein.”

{Democratic National Committee Chair announces resignation as fallout of leaked emails deepens on eve of convention.}

Philadelphia, Pennsylvania – On the eve of the Democratic National Convention, party members grappled to contain a crisis brought about by a trove of leaked emails that confirmed suspicions the party was biased against former presidential candidate Bernie Sanders.

As the fallout continued, Democratic National Committee Chairwoman Debbie Wasserman Schultz said on Sunday that she would step down after the convention, which begins Monday.

Her tentative resignation came after emails, leaked by Wikileaks, seemed to confirm allegations by Sanders’ campaign that the party was secretly supporting presumptive nominee Hillary Clinton.

The incident will most likely widen the chasm between supporters of the two camps, as Clinton vies for their support the week she is to be officially nominated as the party’s presidential candidate.

Earlier on Sunday, Schultz was taken off the speakers’ list for the convention – a clear snub and a rarity for any party chair. Pressure on Schultz increased further after Sanders called for her resignation.

Later on Sunday, Sanders issued a statement saying that by resigning, Schultz “made the right decision for the future of the Democratic Party”.

“The party leadership must also always remain impartial in the presidential nominating process, something which did not occur in the 2016 race.”

Pro-Sanders rallies

Meanwhile, thousands of Sanders’ supporters assembled in Philadelphia on Sunday to march from city hall to a nearby park, voicing their anger over they said was a clear attempt at sabotaging the Sanders campaign.

“The short-term fallout is [that] Wasserman Schultz is marginalised at the convention and is out of office very soon,” said David Meyer, professor of political science at UC Irvine.

“She will probably continue to hold her seat in the House of Representatives though. But nobody is surprised that the party favoured Clinton.”

Democrats are also scrambling to unite their front: Clinton and Sanders supporters agreed to form a “unity commission” to limit the role of superdelegates – those who are not bound to vote as per primary results – in the next election cycle.

This was a point of contention in the lead up to the DNC: Sanders won a high number of primaries and caucuses, but superdelegates – party members free to back the candidate of their choice – still voted for Clinton.

“Clinton needs to make sure she has the Bernie backers on her side,” said Patrick Meirick, director of the Political Communication Centre, a research institution and archive of political advertisements at the University of Oklahoma.

“I expect to see some conciliatory noises toward the concerns of Sanders supporters. We already saw her make some changes on the platform.”

Clinton has hurdles to overcome this week, one of which is “consolidating the base on the one hand and reaching out to the general electorate on the other hand,” Meirick told Al Jazeera.

“I think that Clinton up to this point has embraced the Obama legacy and has not really addressed political shakeups of the system per se.”

Philadelphia is meanwhile bracing for a round of protests throughout the four-day Democratic National Convention, where delegates are converging to formally nominate Clinton as their presidential candidate.

More than 50,000 people are expected to arrive in the city, including various disparate groups that will demonstrate for different causes, among them legalising marijuana, poverty and homelessness, policing and environmental issues.

At least one group will attempt to hold the world’s largest ‘fart-in’ by having a large bean meal shortly prior, to protest the “rhetorical flatulence of Hillary Clinton”, according to local activist Cheri Honkala of the Poor People’s Economic Human Rights Campaign.

“The idea behind this is that this whole process stinks, and that we can’t have a revolution under any corporate control of either political party,” Honkala told Al Jazeera.

“I know that the Democratic Party doesn’t give a damn about people in this country, and no way would they have given an independent socialist [Senator Bernie Sanders] control over it.”

Philadelphia City officials are preparing for potentially rowdy demonstrations, as more than 20 protest permits have been issued. The police force has 5,200 members, but the mayor’s office would not disclose to Al Jazeera how many of those would be dispatched to ensure law and order.

The last time Philadelphia hosted a national convention in 2000, nearly 400 people were arrested, some pre-emptively, when police raided a warehouse where protesters had gathered to prepare for demonstrations. Last year, the city hosted Pope Francis, drawing more than a million visitors, without any major security incidents.

Barricades are already up outside the Wells Fargo Centre, where the convention is being held, and high-calibre guests will be speaking, including US President Barack Obama, First Lady Michelle Obama and former president Bill Clinton.

“For security reasons, all we can say is that we also have specialised units involved, and a security parameter will be put in place around the main event centre,” said Lauren Hitt, communications director for Philadelphia’s mayor.

“We want to make sure that people are able to exercise their expression of the First Amendment safely.”