OPINION:
There’s a war going on within the Democratic Party — but the press seems preoccupied with the rifts happening within the Republican Party.
Never mind, the GOP has wrapped up their presidential nomination, naming Donald Trump as their presumed nominee, with no major drama, like a contested convention, anticipated in July.
That’s not true with the Democrats.
Vermont Sen. Bernard Sanders, who has no mathematical path to the nomination, has vowed to keep his campaign going, and his supporters are as passionate and determined as the candidate, both inciting violence at a Democratic convention in Nevada this week, and by threatening to disrupt the party’s convention in July.
After Mr. Sanders’ supporters booed California Sen. Barbara Boxer off the stage and reportedly were seen throwing chairs in Nevada, instead of condemning their actions, Mr. Sanders partially justified them, citing his own mistreatment by the party.
In a statement Tuesday, Mr. Sanders’ said the Democratic Party “has a choice: It can open its doors and welcome into the party” his backers or “maintain its status quo.”
“At (the Nevada) convention, the Democratic leadership used its power to prevent a fair and transparent process from taking place,” said Mr. Sanders, adding that there have been “zero reports” of violence during his massive rallies across the country.
After Tuesday’s primaries, where Mr. Sanders’ narrowly lost the Kentucky and won in Oregon, Mr. Sanders’ vowed to fight Hillary Clinton until “the last ballot is cast.”
It doesn’t look as though Mr. Sanders is going to allow Mrs. Clinton the ceremonious, peaceful and unified convention she’s seeking in July.
Yet, despite the ruckus on the Democratic side, The Washington Post in its Wednesday’s paper decided to focus on the Republican race.
On its front-page, it had a story on what it called a former mob figure describing his ties to Mr. Trump. On its fourth-page were two stories: One focusing on how Mr. Trump is beginning to address his so-called “controversial actions” and another regarding grass-roots conservatives trying to stop Mr. Trump at the GOP convention.
It was only on its seventh page did it address the Democrats, with the vanilla headline: “Clinton claims victory in Kentucky; Sanders takes Oregon.”
The Post has vowed to cover the presidential race fairly, yet in Sunday’s paper there were three Mr. Trump focused stories in its A section, one on the front-page titled: “The GOP effort to derail Trump.” There was only one story in the paper that day regarding the Democrats, noting that young black voters aren’t turning out this election cycle, despite increased activism.
The Post covered the Democratic unrest in Nevada, but seemed to minimize it, placing the blame on Mr. Sanders’ for not falling in line with the Democratic Party.
There’s real unrest within the Democratic Party — arguably bigger than what’s going on with the Republican side. The anti-Trump forces are withering, no third-party candidates have emerged, and more establishment Republicans are endorsing Mr. Trump.
Yet, the press seems to want to force the anti-Trump narrative while seemingly trying to avoid the battle going on for the heart and soul of the Democratic Party.
Agenda much?
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