PHILADELPHIA — Thousands of people joined street demonstrations Monday outside the Democratic National Convention that dwarfed protest at the GOP convention in Cleveland last week, with most in the crowds calling themselves Democrats or ex-Democrats and vowing never to vote for the party’s likely nominee, Hillary Clinton.
They protested against war, against economic injustice and against perceived corruption within the Democratic Party. But mostly they protested against Mrs. Clinton and in favor of their champion, far-left candidate Sen. Bernard Sanders, who lost a hard-fought primary race that his supporters claim was “rigged” against the self-proclaimed democratic socialist.
As the convention opened, the scandal over leaked Democratic National Committee email confirmed suspicions that party officials were trying to sabotage Mr. Sanders’s run and further enraged the protesters.
Many said the would never vote for Mrs. Clinton and threatened to join the #DemExit movement, in which tens of thousands of Democrats plan to quit the party Thursday when Mrs. Clinton accepts the nomination.
“If the only way to show we don’t stand for corruption is to leave the party, then I’ll have to do it,” said Amanda Sullivan, 35, who came from the swing state Florida to protest the convention. “It makes me sad.”
The scandal prompted the resignation of Democratic National Committee Chairwoman Debbie Wasserman Schultz, who is a congresswoman representing the Weston, Florida, where Mrs. Sullivan lives.
SEE ALSO: Donald Trump surges to lead after GOP convention
Mrs. Sullivan said that the only reason she wasn’t quitting the Democratic Party immediately was that she wanted to first vote against Mrs. Wasserman Shultz in the primary.
“I’ll have to leave the party, but not until we vote Debbie Wasserman Schultz out,” she said.
Everywhere in the crowd were buttons, T-shirts, flags and placards emblazoned with “Bernie” or his campaign slogans.
Wearing a “Feel the Bern” button, Ben Rothman, 24, said he came from Chicago to join the protest. “I’m here to make sure the DNC doesn’t think we are going to fall in line,” he said.
Far-wing intellectual Cornel West, who serves as a Sanders delegate to the convention, said he understands why supporters of Mr. Sanders and other liberal Democrats are quitting the party. He planned to vote Green Party in November.
“It has long-term implications, absolutely,” Mr. West told The Washington Times. “You’ve got a corporate wing, you’ve got a populist wing, and the corporate wing in winning out.”
SEE ALSO: Bill Clinton Democrats’ risk-reward surrogate
In the throng of protesters, the complaints about Mrs. Clinton echoed criticisms routinely leveled by Republicans, from her political calculous and flip-flopping on issues to her secret email setup as secretary of state that put U.S. secrets at risk.
“I have a really tough time with the dishonesty and entitlement. I’m fed up with the attitude,” said Nancy Lowrey, 59, a retired high school history teacher from St. Louis, Missouri.
Police were bracing for massive demonstrations in city center and outside the convention at Wells Fargo Center. They expected about 50,000 protesters daily, for a total of 200,000 protesters during the four-day convention.
By contrast, the Republican convention in Cleveland produced smaller than expected demonstrations, with a couple thousand protesters. About two dozen people were arrested, the majority of whom were members of the extremist Revolutionary Communist Party arrested during a flag-burning incident.
The same Revolutionary Community Party members who demonstrated in Cleveland were spotted in the crowd in Philadelphia. But their military-style march and anti-government chants were lost within the teeming mob of competing demonstrations.
Anti-Clinton protesters said they were not concerned that backing a third-party candidate would help clear a path to the White House for Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump.
“I’m willing to risk a Trump presidency. We have nothing to lose now. It’s time to get behind a third-party candidate,” said Shana Lin, 47, who planned to vote for Ms. Stein.
Ms. Lin traveled from her home in Virginia Beach, Virginia, to join the protest in front of City Hall and hoisting a placard that read “You lost me at Hillary.”
She planned vote for Green Party candidate Jill Stein and planned to quit the Democratic Party over the way party officials treated Mr. Sanders in the primary.
“The Democratic Party made the wrong choice when they pushed Hillary Clinton through to the nomination,” she said.
Most of her friends back home felt the same way, she said, adding, “It’s not about Trump.”
• S.A. Miller can be reached at smiller@washingtontimes.com.
Please read our comment policy before commenting.