PHILADELPHIA — The Democratic Party on Monday night called on its top progressive hero to quell a growing rebellion on the left, and Sen. Elizabeth Warren told her party in no uncertain terms that it cannot “turn on each other” and must fully back Hillary Clinton for president.
The Massachusetts Democrat’s speech came at a critical moment for the party and its convention, which was on the verge of going off the rails earlier in the day when supporters of Sen. Bernard Sanders disrupted the proceedings right out of the gate. Those same supporters also had been protesting across the city Monday, and Democratic attempts to calm them down had proven mostly futile heading into Mrs. Warren’s high-stakes address.
Mrs. Warren took repeated shots at Republican Donald Trump, with whom she’s had an ongoing, often nasty Twitter war. But the focal point of her address was getting disenchanted progressives to finally give up their fight against Mrs. Clinton once and for all, or risk the possibility of a Trump presidency.
“We are here tonight because America faces a choice, the choice of a new president. On one side is a man who inherited a fortune from his father and kept it going by cheating people and skipping out on debts, a man who has never sacrificed anything for anyone, a man who only cares for himself every minute of every day,” Mrs. Warren said, laying out her case against Mr. Trump.
“On the other is one of the smartest, toughest and most tenacious people on this planet … a woman who fights for all of us and is strong enough to win those fights,” she continued. I’m here today because our choice is Hillary Clinton. I’m with Hillary.”
Mrs. Warren spoke just minutes before Mr. Sanders took the stage, and her address mostly went on without any significant interruptions from the crowd. Earlier in the evening, Mr. Sanders practically begged his supporters in mass text messages and emails not to interrupt the convention or drown out speakers.
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Mr. Sanders’ supporters remain angry over revelations that the Democratic National Committee actively favored Mrs. Clinton during the party primary — a revelation that came after WikiLeaks released nearly 20,000 emails showing DNC officials disparaging the Sanders campaign and plotting ways to derail it.
DNC Chairwoman Debbie Wasserman Schultz stepped down Sunday and even disappeared from the convention on Monday to try and tame the anger, but it didn’t appear to be enough in the hours leading up to Mrs. Warren’s address.
In her speech, the senator contrasted what she views as Mr. Trump’s platform with the values of Democrats, offering a strong case for Mrs. Clinton and her vice-presidential pick, Virginia Sen. Tim Kaine.
“That’s Donald Trump’s America. An America of fear and hate,” she said. “An America where we all break apart. Whites against Blacks and Latinos. Christians against Muslims and Jews. Straight against gay. Everyone against immigrants. Race, religion, heritage, gender — the more factions the better. But ask yourself this: When white workers in Ohio are pitted against black workers in North Carolina or Latino workers in Florida, who really benefits?”
She also said Democrats, and all Americans, simply cannot turn on each other at this point in history.
“When we turn on each other, bankers can run our economy for Wall Street, oil companies can fight off clean energy, and giant corporations can ship the last good jobs overseas,” Ms. Warren will say. “When we turn on each other, we can’t unite to fight back against a rigged system.”
• Ben Wolfgang can be reached at bwolfgang@washingtontimes.com.
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