Hundreds of self-described “Bernie-crats” expressed their disdain over Democratic Party establishment favorite Eric Bauman’s victory over grassroots organizer Kimberly Ellis to succeed John Burton as Chairman of California’s Democratic Party last weekend.
Bauman, 58, became the first openly gay chair of the statewide Democratic Party with his victory. Despite losing by a thin margin of 62 votes, Ellis refused to concede. After speaking with her attorney, she declared, “this race is not over.”
It was. But the battle had begun anew.
For Bernie Sanders supporters it was Groundhog Day. According to Politico, former Ohio state Senator Nina Turner, who endorsed Sanders in 2016, reportedly said Ellis garnered “the same energy that [Minnesota Rep.] Keith Ellison had until the establishment came in and choked the life out of people.”
The San Francisco Chronicle reported, “The election of longtime party insider Eric Bauman as the new chair of the California Democratic Party has inflamed painful feelings among progressives that the party isn’t listening to its grassroots members.”
Another “Bernie-crat” told the San Francisco Chronicle that Bauman has “got a problem on his hands: The party is divided.”
According to the Los Angeles Times, about 500 “Bernie-crats” had gathered for a Middle Eastern dinner reunion where Rep. Ro Khanna (D-CA) addressed the “Justice Democrats” — a group that challenges Democratic incumbents whom they think are not liberal enough — and said, “This country demands a vision. They want to know what we’re going to be for.”
Most of the Democrats spent the rest of their time at the annual convention ranting against President Donald Trump, Outgoing California Democratic Party chairman John Burton, for one, left his post of eight years on Saturday by waving his middle fingers in the air and rallying those gathered to chant, “F*ck Donald Trump!”
House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi and Former Obama administration Secretary of Labor Hilda Solis were also spotted, showing some amusement at Burton’s antics.
Adelle Nazarian is a politics and national security reporter for Breitbart News. Follow her on Facebook and Twitter.
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