Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-VT) on Monday said that if his supporters are able to push his progressive agenda at the Democratic National Convention in July, then the event could get “messy.”
“I think if they make the right choice and open the doors to working-class people and young people and create the kind of dynamism that the Democratic Party needs, it’s going to be messy,” he told the Associated Press. “Democracy is not always nice and quiet and gentle but that is where the Democratic Party should go.”
The Democratic presidential candidate indicated that there’s nothing wrong with a messy convention.
“Democracy is messy. Everyday my life is messy,” he said. “But if you want everything to be quiet and orderly and allow, you know, just things to proceed without vigorous debate, that is not what democracy is about.”
Sanders’ comments come after the Democratic National Committee announced that Sanders will appoint five people to the 15-member convention committee that drafts the party’s platform, while Hillary Clinton will appoint six people to the committee. The Vermont senator had accused the DNC earlier in May of stacking the convention committees with supporters of Clinton.
Sanders told the AP on Monday that working on the Democratic party platform will be an “excellent time to educate the American people.”
“There are two sides to every issue and I’m sure that Secretary Clinton will have very vigorous proponents of her point of view, as we will have,” he said.
Particularly since reports of chaos at the Nevada Democratic Convention, some Democrats have been concerned that if Sanders loses the nomination, he and his supporters will cause a ruckus at the national convention in July.
