Democratic presidential candidate Bernie Sanders delivers remarks at a campaign rally in Washington last week. On Tuesday, he said Democrats need to enact reforms to open up their party to independents and others not presently engaged in the political process. Photo by Kevin Dietsch/UPI |
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WASHINGTON, June 14 (UPI) -- Democratic presidential candidate Bernie Sanders called for major overhauls to how Democrats hold their presidential primaries, laying out a new, more inclusive path for the party in the wake of his surprisingly potent campaign.
Sanders, speaking at a press conference in Washington on Tuesday just after a closed-door meeting with his Senate colleagues, called for new leadership at the Democratic National Committee, with whom he has feuded at several points in the campaign.
Sanders called for Democrats to do away with "closed primaries" that prohibit independent voters from casting a ballot and the end of superdelegates who are permitted to cast ballots at the Democratic convention without regard to voters' intent in their home states.
Politico reports Sanders made much the same plea to his Democratic colleagues during a caucus meeting Tuesday, saying he hoped his 1,900 delegates to the convention in Philadelphia would be heard, and the party would adopt the "most progressive" platform ever.
Sanders said he will continue campaigning through Tuesday's District of Columbia primary, the final event on the primary election calendar.
Sanders' remarks -- made as the final voters in the nation cast their ballots -- may serve as a broad outline of what it might take for him to drop out of the race and endorse the Democratic presumptive nominee, Hillary Clinton. Sanders did not mention Clinton's name during his Tuesday press conference and thus far has not indicated he believes she has in effect won the nomination.
The two were scheduled to meet in person in Washington on Tuesday at an undisclosed time and place to hash out their differences following what was, at times, a bruising primary race.
A similar face-to-face meeting took place eight years ago between Clinton and then-Sen. Barack Obama, when a mutual colleague, Sen. Diane Feinstein, hosted the two candidates for an off-the-books visit at her home, so they could talk out their differences and unite for the general election.
Top Democrats said they hoped Tuesday night's Clinton-Sanders summit would help them arrive at the same conclusion.
In laying out his agenda for party reforms, Sanders said new leadership will be needed to carry out the changes, including DNC chair Debbie Wasserman Schultz, who he called on to resign.
"We need a person at the leadership of the DNC who is vigorously supporting and out working to bring people into the political process," Sanders said. "Yeah, I know political parties need money. But it is more important that we have energy."
Washerman Schultz told The Hill she does not plan to step down. She has the backing of President Barack Obama and other party leaders despite the icy relationship she has with Sanders' supporters, who have identified her as an opponent to the reforms and ideals his liberal candidacy are based on.
Prior to his press conference, Sanders was met with hearty applause from his Democratic Senate colleagues in a private caucus meeting just steps from the Senate floor. Other senators told Politico Sanders was "warmly received" and he pledged to do what he could to aide their re-election campaigns, and those of challengers seeking to unseat Republican incumbents this election cycle.
