Bill Clinton shouted down by Bernie Sanders supporters in Boyle Heights
Bill Clinton shouted down by Bernie Sanders supporters in Boyle Heights
A small but noisy group of Bernie Sanders supporters heckled Bill Clinton repeatedly at a campaign stop in Boyle Heights on Sunday afternoon, at times drowning out the former president.
There was no violence, but the shouting suggested fissures will remain after California, New Jersey and four other states hold primaries on Tuesday that are expected to give Hillary Clinton enough delegates to in effect lock up the Democratic nomination.
"Your wife is a war criminal! Your wife is for fracking!" one protester screamed while sticking his middle finger in the air.
"Bernie beats Trump in all the polls!" about a dozen Sanders backers chanted. "Bernie has the energy!"
Many of the two hundred or so Clinton supporters, who had gathered in Mariachi Plaza, chanted back, "Hillary!"
When the disruptions grew too loud to ignore, the former president adressed the protesters directly.
"They say everybody who disagrees with them is a part of some nefarious establishment," he said. "Well it's a pretty big establishment."
Clinton enumerated the diverse groups that have endorsed his wife's candicacy, including the Human Rights Campaign, the United Farm Workers union and the League of Conservation Voters.
"The reason that all these groups have supported Hillary is they believe she will get more done," he said.
Clinton said Sanders supporters should show respect to other candidates, as his wife has.
"We don't want to have a shouting match," he said. "She has bent over backwards to be positive in this campaign."
Protesters have shadowed the Clintons for months as her battle with Sanders has grown more heated. She has won more states, more votes and more delegates.
At a Hillary Clinton event in Riverside recently, a few of her supporters nearly came to blows with several dozen Sanders backers, and half a dozen protesters were ejected after disrupting the rally.
In unincorperated East Los Angeles last month, hundreds of protesters took to the streets outside one of Clinton's rallies.
The pro-Sanders protests are nowhere near the scale of the demonstrations that have been aimed at Donald Trump, the presumptive Republican nominee, in recent weeks.
But they highlight the divisions in the Democratic Party even as party leaders seek unity.
One Sanders backer, union organizer Fernando Ramirez, said he protested the Boyle Heights event because he believes Clinton and the Democratic Party are ignoring independent voters who feel excluded by the two-party systen.
"They're not really listening to the new generation," he said. "We believe in Bernie because he's critical of the establishment."
If Clinton wins the nomination, Ramirez sai,d he will not vote for her in the general election.
"I can't," he said. "I'll vote Green Party."
Bill Clinton shouted down by Bernie Sanders supporters in Boyle Heights
A small but noisy group of Bernie Sanders supporters heckled Bill Clinton repeatedly at a campaign stop in Boyle Heights on Sunday afternoon, at times drowning out the former president.
There was no violence, but the shouting suggested fissures will remain after California, New Jersey and four other states hold primaries on Tuesday that are expected to give Hillary Clinton enough delegates to in effect lock up the Democratic nomination.
"Your wife is a war criminal! Your wife is for fracking!" one protester screamed while sticking his middle finger in the air.
"Bernie beats Trump in all the polls!" about a dozen Sanders backers chanted. "Bernie has the energy!"
Many of the two hundred or so Clinton supporters, who had gathered in Mariachi Plaza, chanted back, "Hillary!"
When the disruptions grew too loud to ignore, the former president adressed the protesters directly.
"They say everybody who disagrees with them is a part of some nefarious establishment," he said. "Well it's a pretty big establishment."
Clinton enumerated the diverse groups that have endorsed his wife's candicacy, including the Human Rights Campaign, the United Farm Workers union and the League of Conservation Voters.
"The reason that all these groups have supported Hillary is they believe she will get more done," he said.
Clinton said Sanders supporters should show respect to other candidates, as his wife has.
"We don't want to have a shouting match," he said. "She has bent over backwards to be positive in this campaign."
Protesters have shadowed the Clintons for months as her battle with Sanders has grown more heated. She has won more states, more votes and more delegates.
At a Hillary Clinton event in Riverside recently, a few of her supporters nearly came to blows with several dozen Sanders backers, and half a dozen protesters were ejected after disrupting the rally.
In unincorperated East Los Angeles last month, hundreds of protesters took to the streets outside one of Clinton's rallies.
The pro-Sanders protests are nowhere near the scale of the demonstrations that have been aimed at Donald Trump, the presumptive Republican nominee, in recent weeks.
But they highlight the divisions in the Democratic Party even as party leaders seek unity.
One Sanders backer, union organizer Fernando Ramirez, said he protested the Boyle Heights event because he believes Clinton and the Democratic Party are ignoring independent voters who feel excluded by the two-party systen.
"They're not really listening to the new generation," he said. "We believe in Bernie because he's critical of the establishment."
If Clinton wins the nomination, Ramirez sai,d he will not vote for her in the general election.
"I can't," he said. "I'll vote Green Party."
