PHILADELPHIA — Baltimore Mayor Stephanie Rawlings-Blake pounded the gavel Monday and kicked off a raucous Democratic National Convention amid an email scandal that forced party Chairwoman Debbie Wasserman Schultz to relinquish the job.
Days after Republican nominee Donald Trump's controversy-laden Republican convention staggered to a finale, the Democrats and presumptive presidential candidate Hillary Clinton stumbled out of the box themselves. Supporters of Sen. Bernie Sanders chanted "Bernie!" from the opening prayer, a cry that popped up intermittently despite the pleas of the speakers.
A few dissidents, taking a page from the GOP convention playbook, even chanted "Lock her up."
Sanders tried to tamp down the uprising, sending an email to his delegates warning that "our credibility as a movement will be damaged by booing, turning of backs, walking out or other similar displays. That's what the corporate media wants. That's what Donald Trump wants. But that's not what will expand the progressive movement in this country.
The stakes are high: CNN and CBS polls released Monday indicate that, warts and all, the GOP convention may have provided enough bounce for Trump to inch ahead of Clinton.
The four-day homage to the nation's first female nominee for president took an early hit with the pre-convention release by Wikileaks of almost 20,000 Democratic Party emails, some of which showed Democratic staffers clearly favoring Clinton over Sanders in the midst of the hard-fought primaries. In one email, a DNC official suggests the party could damage Sanders in the South by pressing him on his religious beliefs. In another, Wasserman Schultz refers to Sanders’ campaign manager as a “damn liar.”
"I hereby call the Democratic National Convention to order." SRB #whatamoment
— Mayor Rawlings-Blake (@MayorSRB) July 25, 2016
The Democratic National Committee issued a statement apologizing to Sanders, his supporters and the party for the "inexcusable remarks made over email," saying the comments "do not reflect the values of the DNC or our steadfast commitment to neutrality."
A fiery show of support from Sanders and a prime-time lineup of left-leaning speakers highlighted efforts by the party and Clinton to get their four-day celebration back on track.
Sanders' speech Monday crucial — and late in the day, convention leaders moved his speech to the end of the night to assure prime-time TV coverage. The Vermont senator has said Wasserman Schultz "deserves thanks for her years of service" but added that "the party now needs new leadership that will open the doors of the party and welcome in working people and young people."
In a passionate warm-up speech Monday afternoon before hundreds of his delegates, Sanders made it clear he won't be leading a rebellion against Clinton.
"We have got to defeat Donald Trump," Sanders said to cheers -- before drawing jeers by adding "And we have got to elect Hillary Clinton and Tim Kaine," her vice presidential running mate.
He won the crowd back by returning to Trump, their unifying force, much like Clinton was the only thing that united Republicans in Cleveland last week. "Trump is a bully and a demagogue," Sanders said. "Trump has made bigotry and hatred the cornerstone of his campaign."
The email controversy led Wasserman Schultz to announce Sunday she would step down at the convention's conclusion. On Monday, she said she would not even gavel the convention to order.
That came after an embarrassing breakfast with the Florida delegation in which Wasserman Schultz entered the room to a standing ovation and cheers from her supporters but quickly faced a torrent of jeers from Sanders supporters.
“I can see there’s a little bit of interest in my being here, and I can appreciate that interest,” she said.
The FBI announced Monday it was investigating a hack involving the emails. The New York Times reported that researchers at CrowdStrike, a California-based cybersecurity firm, linked the breach to Russian intelligence agencies. Crowdstrike declined a request for comment from USA TODAY.
Getting ready for my big #demconvention speech tonight! #demsinphilly pic.twitter.com/X4WJtHMliY
— Elizabeth Warren (@elizabethforma) July 25, 2016
Email has not been kind to Clinton, who survived an exhaustive investigation of her use of private email servers while secretary of State. Republicans howled foul, but the FBI declined to recommend criminal charges.
Clinton now must work to keep Democrats in line. Speaking in Charlotte, N.C., on Monday, she dismissed the Trump campaign as divisive and negative, accusing Trump of spending all his time "trash-talking the United States."
“We’re going to have a convention that highlights success stories," she said.
Despite Sanders' vigorous endorsement of Clinton over Trump, rumblings of dissent were present. Politico was among a number of news organizations reporting that the Bernie Delegate Network here was considering a challenge to Clinton's vice presidential nominee, Virginia Sen. Tim Kaine.
More than 1,000 Sanders supporters marched through the city's streets Sunday, before the sanctioned activities even got rolling. Thousands more are expected at protests and marches through the week.
The Clinton camp was hoping that fiery, progressive speeches Monday night from Massachusetts Sen. Elizabeth Warren, New Jersey Sen. Cory Booker and first lady Michelle Obama would turn the news cycle in their favor. Then the convention could become the Clinton promotional blitz her campaign — and the party's deposed chairwoman — worked so hard to build.
Contributing: Michael Collins, Nicole Gaudiano
