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Bernie Sanders moved that the convention suspends the rules and nominate Hillary Clinton by acclamation, making her the first women to be a presidential nominee for a major political party.
Sen. Bernie Sanders speaks after Vermont votes were announced during roll call at the 2016 Democratic National Convention at Wells Fargo Arena.(Photo: Michael Chow, USA TODAY Network)
PHILADELPHIA — Sen.<span style="color: Red;">*</span>Bernie Sanders, in a bid to bridge the Democratic Party's divide between his backers and supporters of Hillary Clinton,<span style="color: Red;">*</span>moved Tuesday<span style="color: Red;">*</span>to give<span style="color: Red;">*</span>Clinton the party's presidential nomination by acclamation.
His motion at the Democratic National Convention<span style="color: Red;">*</span>came after the<span style="color: Red;">*</span>roll call of states<span style="color: Red;">*</span>and was greeted with chants of "Bernie!<span style="color: Red;">*</span>Bernie!"
As they'd signaled from the start of the convention on Monday, many Sanders delegates weren't ready for unity.
Angered by a nomination process they felt was rigged, they swarmed out of the Wells Fargo Center after Clinton's official nomination<span style="color: Red;">*</span>and congregated outside -- and inside -- a nearby media tent as at least two-dozen law enforcement officers stood guard.
Shyla Nelsa, a Vermont delegate who was among those nominating Sanders on stage, said<span style="color: Red;">*</span>the walkout was an "organized, peaceful, nonviolent action called "no voice, no unity."
"This was clearly in its context a gesture to honor our constituents back home," she said. "Many, many of our constituents all over this country feel that their voices have not been adequately heard in this process."
Among other things,<span style="color: Red;">*</span>Sanders' pledged<span style="color: Red;">*</span>delegates complained that superdelegates, the party leaders and elected officials who can vote for the candidate of their choice at the convention, had given<span style="color: Red;">*</span>Clinton an unfair advantage in the nominating contest.<span style="color: Red;">*</span>They also were infuriated by<span style="color: Red;">*</span>leaked Democratic National Committee emails that revealed attempts by the committee to undermine<span style="color: Red;">*</span>Sanders' campaign.
Amid the crush of protesters, about 10 delegates with black tape over their mouths sat in a semicircle holding hands in front of a sign lettered in black tape<span style="color: Red;">*</span>that said "vote fraud." Some people held signs that said "Rigged" and "#DemExit." Others made peace signs.
"It's an acknowledgement that this process didn't satisfy everyone," said Gus Madrid, a North Carolina delegate, said of the protest. "People feel disenfranchised."
Sanders, I-Vt., had waited 15 months to watch his delegates cast ballots for him at the convention, hoping against the odds that he would<span style="color: Red;">*</span>be the candidate accepting the nomination.<span style="color: Red;">*</span>During his speech to the convention on Monday, Sanders told his delegates he was looking forward to their votes, even while urging them to help Clinton defeat GOP nominee Donald Trump<span style="color: Red;">*</span>in November.
“I understand that many people here in this convention hall and around the country are disappointed about the final results of the nominating process,” he<span style="color: Red;">*</span>said. “I think it’s fair to say that no one is more disappointed than I am. But to all of our supporters – here and around the country – I hope you take enormous pride in the historical accomplishments we have achieved. <span style="color: Red;">*</span>Together, my friends, we have begun a political revolution to transform America and that revolution – our revolution – continues.”
USA TODAY
What is a convention roll call vote, and what does it mean for Clinton?
On Tuesday,<span style="color: Red;">*</span>Vermont went<span style="color: Red;">*</span>last in the roll call of states. After all of Clinton's and Sanders' delegate numbers had been<span style="color: Red;">*</span>announced, Sanders said, "I<span style="color: Red;">*</span>move that Hillary Clinton<span style="color: Red;">*</span>be selected as the nominee of the Democratic Party." He<span style="color: Red;">*</span>kissed his wife Jane<span style="color: Red;">*</span>and waved to the cheering crowd, saying "thank you" and pressing his lips together in a stoic expression.
At the 2008 Democratic convention, Clinton interrupted the official roll call vote to move that then-Sen. Barack Obama be selected by acclamation.
Sanders told USA TODAY recently it was important for his delegates to cast their ballots for him at the convention because<span style="color: Red;">*</span>“I want the country and the world and our people to appreciate the kind of success we’ve had."
USA TODAY
Debbie Wasserman Schultz draws boos, cheers at Florida delegation breakfast
USA TODAY
'Hillary Clinton must become the next president,' Sanders tells convention
In a<span style="color: Red;">*</span>moving moment at<span style="color: Red;">*</span>the convention unfolding in the City of Brotherly Love,<span style="color: Red;">*</span>Sanders’ older brother, Larry, of Oxford, England, fought back<span style="color: Red;">*</span>tears as he announced the delegate vote tally for Democrats Abroad, a contest<span style="color: Red;">*</span>his brother won.
Larry Sanders said he and his brother's<span style="color: Red;">*</span>parents, Eli and Dorothy, “did not have easy lives and they died young” and they would be “immensely proud of their son and his accomplishments.” Bernie Sanders, shown with his wife in the family box, could be seen holding back tears.
“They loved the New Deal of Franklin Roosevelt and would be especially proud that Bernard is renewing that vision,” Larry Sanders said, his voice cracking with emotion. “It’s with enormous pride<span style="color: Red;">*</span>that I cast my vote for Bernie Sanders.”
In nominating Sanders ahead of the roll call, Rep. Tulsi Gabbard of Hawaii<span style="color: Red;">*</span>said the Vermont senator had inspired a "movement of love" that calls on Americans to care about people<span style="color: Red;">*</span>who have lost their jobs or are buried under college debt, and about the environment, veterans and lives lost in unnecessary wars.
"Because this is a movement fueled<span style="color: Red;">*</span>by love, it can never be stopped or defeated," she said.
USA TODAY
Bernie Sanders delegates speak out
While nominating Sanders, Paul Feeney, legislative director of IBEW Local 2222, encouraged delegates to send the message that the party is united and that "our movement has just begun."
"Stay engaged, stay active, stay fired up, because we<span style="color: Red;">*</span>have shown this country that people-powered politics can never be defeated," he said.
Outside the Wells Fargo Center, Mark Lasser, a Colorado delegate, said Sanders had broken promises to take the fight to the floor of the convention and to avoid letting Clinton win by acclamation.
"Its a lie," he said. "You don't have to pretend that it's acclamation. Anyone can open their eyes and see that there's not unity."
Michael McCorkle, a Colorado delegate, said delegates are upset with an unfair process and party bias against them -- not with Sanders.
"He was so brave," McCorkle said. "People are disappointed that he's being forced into this concession. I don't think anyone has hard feelings about Bernie."
Follow @ngaudiano on Twitter.
USA TODAY
Bernie Sanders urges delegates not to boo
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