Sanders: Democratic Party Has a Big Decision to Make

He rejects calls to rein in supporters
By Rob Quinn,  Newser Staff
Posted May 18, 2016 3:18 AM CDT
Updated May 18, 2016 6:51 AM CDT
Sanders: Democratic Party Has a Big Decision to Make
Supporters listen during Sanders' Tuesday night rally in Carson, Calif.   (AP Photo/Jae C. Hong)

Bernie Sanders scored yet another convincing primary win on Tuesday—and while the nomination may still be out of reach, he made it clear that he's no mood to compromise with the Democratic Party. The party "is going to have to make a very, very profound and important decision," he told supporters at a rally in Carson, Calif., per the AP. "It can do the right thing and open its doors and welcome into the party people who are prepared to fight for real economic and social change. I say to the leadership of the Democratic Party: Open the doors, let the people in." He warned that the party also has the "very sad and tragic option" of hanging on to the status quo and "big-money campaign contributions," meaning it will remain a "party with limited participation and limited energy," handing victory to a "right-wing extremist Republican Party."

Earlier Tuesday, Sanders rejected party calls to rein in his supporters and condemn the chair-throwing chaos at the Nevada Democratic Convention, which was allegedly followed by death threats to the state party chairwoman, Politico reports. If the party is going to win in November, "it is imperative that all state parties treat our campaign supporters with fairness and the respect that they have earned," Sanders said in a statement, rejecting claims that his campaign has a "penchant for violence" and accusing the Democratic leadership of trying to "prevent a fair and transparent process from taking place" at the Nevada convention. The New York Times notes that amid the growing Democratic split, some Sanders supporters have vowed to protest inside and outside the national convention in Philadelphia in July. (More Bernie Sanders stories.)

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