Weekend at Bernie’s

PHILADELPHIA—It’s Day One at the Democratic National Convention, where delegates from across the country plan to crown Hillary Clinton as their party’s presidential nominee.

But the weekend belonged to Sen. Bernie Sanders.

Sanders conceded the presidential nomination to Clinton earlier this month, but on Philadelphia’s downtown streets and alleys, signs of the independent senator from Vermont’s supporters were everywhere.

On Sunday afternoon, less than 2 miles from the Wells Fargo Center, where nightly convention sessions will take place, a man motioned an aging van into one of the city’s excruciatingly tight parking places on a side street. The back window had a cut out of Bernie Sanders’ face and campaign bumper stickers. The license plate read: “California.”

Nearby, a handful of demonstrators held up signs a full day before the convention started: “Las Vegas for Bernie.” “California for Bernie.” “Arizona for Bernie.”

On the bustling streets of downtown Philly, an enormous RV rolled past the iconic city hall, with the driver blasting the horn as he drove. The RV had Sanders’ face emblazoned on the side, along with a slogan: “Black Men for Bernie.”

Despite heat index warnings of 107 degrees here today, Sanders’ supporters hold the majority of permits for outdoor demonstrations in Philadelphia parks. Some have pitched tents on the outskirts of town to sleep in campgrounds with fellow supporters.

Inside the convention hall, well-dressed delegates shuffled into air-conditioned conference rooms for interfaith prayer gatherings and meetings about the week ahead. The mood was light, but it wasn’t as vigorous as the atmosphere outside, where pedestrians cheered on street corners when cars plastered with Sanders banners rolled past them.

Conspicuously missing: signs for Hillary Clinton. The only banner I saw with Clinton’s image all afternoon was a truck billboard for Dinesh D’Souza’s anti-Clinton film called Hillary’s America.

There’s plenty of time for Clinton’s supporters to get fired up, but the weekend’s vibe offered a glimpse into the challenge for the former secretary of state: With email scandals, high unfavorability ratings, and Republican nominee Donald Trump closing the gap in polls, Clinton must find a way to move beyond her base to the crowds sweating the searing heat for Sanders.

Trump has already moved toward those very voters.

In his acceptance speech last week in Cleveland, Trump appealed to Sanders supporters by name, saying there was a place under his tent for them. His appeal to the “forgotten man” in America may resonate with many Sanders supporters who feel the system is unfair: Both Trump and Sanders have often used the word “rigged.”

Meanwhile, the Democratic National Committee (DNC) was dealing with a scandal that only enflames such suspicions.

Over the weekend, the website WikiLeaks posted a trove of hacked emails from committee members that showed a clear disdain for Sanders during the primary campaign. A May 5 email from a party official to DNC communications director Luis Miranda suggested a campaign tactic: Question Sanders’ faith.

Sanders has spoken of his Jewish background but has also said he considers himself secular. Still, the party official told Miranda: “I think I read he is an atheist. This could make several points difference with my peeps. My Southern Baptist peeps would draw a big difference between a Jew and an atheist.”

Perhaps, but it’s unclear how many Southern Baptist peeps would be voting for Sanders or Clinton.

Other emails show party officials and other staffers discussing a hard push against Sanders in the primaries, as Clinton struggled to stop her opponents’ unexpected surge. By Sunday, DNC chairwoman Debbie Wasserman Schultz—also featured in the emails—said she would step down from her position after the convention.

The episode is not only embarrassing for DNC officials, but it also bolsters the perception among Sanders supporters that the process was unfair, or at least stacked against him.

Sanders isn’t running anymore, but another candidate with a similar message is making campaign stops across the country this week: Watch to see if Donald Trump tries to woo those enthusiastic crowds into his own camp while Clinton tries to hang on.