Philly’s new revolution

PHILADELPHIA—On the streets of Philadelphia on Monday, scores of men, women, and children in the City of Brotherly Love showed the most affection for a socialist senator they longed to see in the White House.

These are serious supporters.

Indeed, supporters of Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt., are as devoted as any of the thousands I’ve seen throng Donald Trump’s events over the last few months. They come from all over the country. They don’t ride in air-conditioned shuttles or eat the free food doled out at open-bar receptions all over town.

Instead, they endure brutal heat indexes to stand on the concrete and hold signs for the man they think would save the country. Sometimes, that’s all. They just want to be here.

One particularly noticeable Sanders fan moves about town wearing a Robin Hood hat: He likes the idea of stealing from the rich to give to the poor.

Sanders hasn’t articulated his agenda exactly that explicitly, but on Monday night he did underscore his vision for ending wealth inequality, bolstering abortion rights, expanding gay rights, launching universal healthcare, and a host of other planks he said Democrats must pursue.

And though he endorsed presumptive nominee Hillary Clinton, Sanders addressed his supporters in almost communal language: “Brothers and sisters,” he called them. And he made a promise: “This revolution will continue.”

The Vermont senator took the stage at the Wells Fargo Arena on Monday night after a painful start for Democrats on the first day of their convention. Their chairwoman, Debbie Wasserman Schultz, decided not to appear at the convention after an email leak showed the party had actively worked against Sanders in the Democratic primary. (She has resigned her position.)

The news galvanized the waves of Sanders supporters in Philadelphia, who said it shows the system is rigged and demanded some form of justice for their candidate. The party faced the same fractures that marked Republican proceedings last week in Cleveland.

By Monday night, a slew of primetime speakers pleaded with Democrats to put on a united front—and for Sanders supporters to get behind Clinton. In a not-so-subtle choice, Paul Simon sang “Bridge Over Troubled Waters.”

Sanders took the stage last, to one of the most thunderous welcomes for a convention speaker in recent history. The arena was far more packed than the sports center in Cleveland last week, with ushers turning away participants with tickets because seats were already full.

Sanders laid out his plan for a socialist-leaning future for America, and insisted Hillary Clinton agreed with those principles. He warned against the dangers of a Trump presidency, though the GOP nominee has directly appealed to disaffected Sanders voters.

And in case any of his supporters had doubts, Sanders intoned: “We must elect Hillary Clinton as president of the United States.”

For Democrats, it was a rousing end to a raucous day, but many Sanders supporters seem undeterred. They plan to take to the streets again today, though their immediate agenda beyond supporting Sanders isn’t clear.

But their longing for a utopian future fills the streets of downtown Philadelphia, where scores of homeless people beg for money, trash fills the alleyways, occasional shouting matches break out between disgruntled citizens, and women carry signs touting the benefits of abortion.

It’s a striking picture in a city where a church chime rang out at noon, playing a hymn with an offer of true peace: “Jesus what a friend for sinners.”