Die-hard Clinton supporters to air grievances outside convention
Democratic Party leaders have spent weeks preparing a national convention this week that will burst with symbols of unshakable unity behind Senator Barack Obama.
But outside the convention arena in Denver, some of Hillary Clinton's supporters plan to air their grievances against Obama, the party's leadership, and the national media, whose coverage of the primary battle they considered sexist. Hundreds of disaffected Democrats from around the country plan to converge in the Mile High City to hold news conferences, protests, and vigils, threatening the party's ability to present a united front against Republican John McCain.
Many Democrats say the success of the convention, and of Obama's fall campaign, depends heavily on how well the party handles the complaints of Clinton's loyalists, some of whom are still smarting from the long and bitter fight, are disappointed that she is not Obama's running mate, and are insulted by reports that she was not vetted as a possible pick or consulted about his choice.
While many Clinton delegates say they will back Obama and do not intend to embarrass him, grass-roots activists planning protests outside the convention hope to disrupt the sense of unity party leaders are cultivating.
"This is a voter's revolt," said Darragh Murphy, who founded Puma PAC, a pro-Clinton political action committee whose acronym stands for People United Means Action.
Polls suggest Obama's narrow national lead is all but disappearing amid attacks from a newly aggressive and disciplined McCain campaign. One reason for this appears to be that barely half of Clinton's supporters plan to vote for Obama, according to an NBC News/Wall Street Journal poll released last week. With the last two presidential elections decided by a small number of voters in swing states, Obama needs a unified party to win in November.
Puma PAC is among a multitude of pro-Clinton groups that formed online to protest a variety of issues, including perceived media bias and flaws in the primary process. In Denver, Murphy's group plans to show the premiere of an unfinished movie, "The Audacity of Democracy," and is cosponsoring a protest and candlelight salute to Clinton tomorrow. Another group, PUMA 08, will coordinate communication between its members and the press, and provide a home base for bloggers who support Clinton.
A separate organization, 18 Million Voices Rise Hillary Rise, is calling on Clinton supporters to join a march and gathering celebrating Clinton's achievements and the 88th anniversary of women's suffrage on Tuesday.
Democratic analysts downplay the significance of the demonstrators because Clinton's top aides and prominent supporters have shunned them. But analysts are aware they could be a distraction.
"I think the vast majority of the Hillary folks did fall in love with Hillary - and now are certainly falling in line with Obama," said Democratic strategist Chris Lehane. "Having said that, there's going to be the largest gathering of press outside of Beijing in Denver this week, with all of them on a hair-trigger for the slightest sign of dissonance and conflict. . . . It has all the elements of a tinderbox environment."
He predicted, though, that the Clintons' speeches, hers Tuesday night and former president Bill Clinton's on Wednesday night, would be powerful arguments for Obama and likely to set the tone for her disappointed supporters.
Clinton endorsed Obama shortly after he clinched the nomination, joining the Illinois senator at a June rally in Unity, N.H., to underscore their reconciliation. She has campaigned for him and urged her supporters to get behind her former rival.
Still, on Wednesday, her name will be placed into nomination under a deal between the two campaigns after hundreds of Clinton supporters demanded it. Until 1996, losing primary candidates' names were routinely put up for a roll-call vote; in the last three conventions, however, presumptive nominees emerged early and delegates voted by unanimous acclamation. But the competitiveness of this year's primaries and the tensions between the Clinton and Obama camps have heightened the drama surrounding the convention vote.
Clinton has said she plans to release her delegates earlier that day, and that she herself plans to vote for Obama. She has characterized the roll-call vote as a "cathartic" moment for her supporters. Her campaign has assigned whips to each state delegation to prevent any problems.
"We know she's not going to win, but this is extremely symbolic for me to cast a ballot for a woman for president," Therese Murray, president of the Massachusetts state Senate and a prominent Clinton supporter, said, adding that she plans to throw her support to Obama after that.
Some, however, are concerned the roll call could send a message of fractiousness and could embarrass delegates - particularly members of Congress - by forcing them to choose between supporting Clinton and backing their party's nominee.
"She's going to get maximum political mileage out of this," said Paul Pezzella, a Clinton member of the convention rules committee. And Obama is in no position to object, he added, "because he needs her supporters."
But several rank-and-file Clinton delegates said they saw no chance of a revolt inside the convention. Judy Byrne Riley, a Clinton delegate from Florida, was busy last week making "Clinton Delegate and Obama Supporter" buttons.
"I know a lot of my strong women Clinton supporters from South Florida - I don't think they're quite as accepting as I am," she said. "But I haven't found any one of them who wasn't going to vote for Obama and doesn't want him to win."
Mayor Thomas M. Menino, a Clinton backer, said that he while had no inside information, he doubted Clinton would go through with the roll call.
"It doesn't do any good to come out of the convention with a split Democratic Party," he said, adding that Clinton had repeatedly told him in private conversations that she was absolutely committed to helping Obama. "She said to me: 'It's about the country. . . . I want to bring this party together.' "
Lisa Wangsness can be reached at lwangsness@globe.com. 