Bernie Sanders, U.S. presidential aspirant and his supporters at a rally in Washington DC sought to retain influence in the race in spite of Hillary Clinton clinching the Democratic Party’s nomination.
A report on Friday said that the aspirant’s supporters vowed to continue fighting for his ideals, even as they acknowledged they were not optimistic about his chances beyond the party’s national convention in July.
Celia Byrne, 58, one of the supporters at the rally, said that she would ensure that the policies and issues central to his campaign would be advocated by the Democratic Party throughout the rest of the race.
“We’re out here to show that Hillary needs to take this side of the party seriously and not just take us for granted.
“She’s got to change some of her policies, whether it’s on the hourly wage or other things, to get us on her side,” she said.
Scott Palmer, a leader of the Citizens’ Climate Lobby, said that Sanders should continue pushing for more action on issues like climate change and income inequality to help influence the convention platform.
“There’s a reason why it’s important for Sanders to stay in the race to go to the Democratic convention, even if he doesn’t get the nomination.
“This is to ensure that the liberal ideals his supporters are advocating for are heard.
“He’ll fight for what he believes in, and hopefully there will be other progressive voices that join the chorus and become leaders in their own right and advocate for these issues as well,” he said.
Ben Dormas, an 18-year-old Washington resident, said that he was ready to get behind Clinton in the general election, in spite of many Sanders’ supporters pledging themselves as so-called “Bernie or Bust.”
He said that there was too much at stake with Trump running on the other side.
Dormas stressed the need for a united Democratic Party to defeat a crumbling Republican Party “and that means Bernie is stepping out at some point soon’’. (dpa/NAN)