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Narrowing the Obama-Clinton Divide: A Roundtable Discussion

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As Hillary Clinton delivers a prime-time address on the eve of Barack Obama’s presidential nomination, we host a roundtable discussion with Dolores Huerta, co-founder of the United Farm Workers of America, who had been an active supporter of Clinton’s campaign and now supports Obama; Sacha Millstone, a Democratic delegate from Colorado, who remains a vocal supporter of Clinton; and Patricia Wilson-Smith, the founder of Black Women for Obama. Huerta says she expects to put Clinton’s name into nomination tonight from the podium. [includes rush transcript]

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Transcript
This is a rush transcript. Copy may not be in its final form.

AMY GOODMAN: We turn now to a discussion about Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama. Sacha Millstone is with us. She’s a Democratic delegate from Boulder, Colorado. She remains a vocal supporter of Hillary Rodham Clinton. Dolores Huerta is here, longtime labor activist, co-founder of the United Farm Workers of America with Cesar Chavez. She runs the Dolores Huerta Foundation. She’s been an active supporter and campaigner for Hillary Rodham Clinton. She now supports Barack Obama. And Patricia Wilson-Smith is with us. She’s a writer and commentator and founder of Black Women for Obama. She’s a delegate for Georgia’s 7th congressional district. We welcome you all to Democracy Now!

Dolores Huerta, you will be putting Hillary Clinton’s name into nomination tonight from the podium?

DOLORES HUERTA: Yes, I will. I think it’s important. We need to make a historical statement, because we’ve never had a woman that has ever reached this far in terms of the nomination process. And, you know, in all of the other conventions — I’ve been a delegate to the Democratic conventions since the Bobby Kennedy delegate, 1968 — and at every single convention, the candidates have always had the delegate vote counted, with Gary Hart, Mondale, Jerry Brown. I was a Ted Kennedy delegate, you know, when he ran for the president. And so, I believe that in order that this historical moment can be recorded, we need to have Hillary’s name placed into nomination so that history will record how far she got as a woman to almost become the president of the United States.

AMY GOODMAN: Patricia Wilson-Smith, your thoughts?

PATRICIA WILSON-SMITH: You know, honestly, I am extremely proud to be a woman right now. I think that Hillary Clinton has done some pretty amazing things. I think also that Dolores is right. It’s important to put in record the fact that she got this far, as long as right after that we begin to work very, very hard to unite as a party, because we have too many challenges, too much at stake, to do anything but that at this point.

AMY GOODMAN: Sacha Millstone?

SACHA MILLSTONE: I agree with everything that’s been said. I think that since 1932, we have had a proud tradition in the Democratic Party of coming into conventions with multiple candidates and, you know, of all of us feeling free to advocate and speak on behalf and vote on behalf of our candidates. And I think there’s only been four times since 1932 that we haven’t had roll-call votes for multiple candidates, and most of those times were when we had an incumbent president and no challenger. So this is something that shouldn’t be regarded as unusual in any way.

AMY GOODMAN: We’re going to come back to this discussion. I also spoke with New York Congress member Jose Serrano. We’ll hear what he has to say, former Clinton supporter, now a vocal supporter of Barack Obama. But we’ll continue this discussion. Is the rift between those who supported Barack Obama and Hillary Rodham Clinton increasing, or is it lessening? Is there real unity, as the signs said last night that were waved as Hillary Rodham Clinton addressed the Democratic convention? Stay with us.

[break]

AMY GOODMAN:

We are talking about Hillary Rodham Clinton and Barack Obama today. Hillary Rodham Clinton addressed the convention last night.

Our guests are Dolores Huerta, founder of the Dolores Huerta Foundation, longtime labor activist, active supporter of Hillary Rodham Clinton, traveled the country campaigning for her. Patricia Wilson-Smith is with us. She is founder of Black Women for Obama, a delegate for Georgia’s 7th congressional district. And Sacha Millstone is here. She is a Democratic delegate from Boulder, Colorado, remains a staunch supporter of Senator Hillary Rodham Clinton.

Sacha Millstone, explain how this all takes place today. There is lots of information swirling about whether the roll-call vote would take place on the convention floor or at your hotels today.

SACHA MILLSTONE:

Unfortunately, we don’t have all the details, and that is one of the most confusing pieces of this. What I am told is that it’s going to be up to the state delegations. So, apparently, some state delegations will be voting at breakfast, and I’m also —

AMY GOODMAN:

And what do you mean, voting?

SACHA MILLSTONE:

Well, apparently — again, unfortunately, one of the problems is this process has not been made clear to everybody, and every day something seems to be changing. So, what I say today could be different in a couple hours.

AMY GOODMAN:

Let me read something from the Denver Post. “Supporters of Hillary Rodham Clinton furiously circulated petitions on the floor of the Democratic National Convention last night,” — I assume you were one of them, Sacha — “hoping to stave off a plan to hold the convention’s roll call at breakfast Wednesday — out of the public eye — sources inside the delegations said.

“The move being worked out between the Obama campaign and officials behind Clinton’s suspended bid, would work in two parts: Delegates would cast votes at their hotels Wednesday morning; that night, at the Pepsi Center convention site, the roll-call process would rely on the votes cast that morning.”

“Colorado [Rep.] Diana DeGette, a former state co-chair for Clinton said she knows the camps are in negotiations about what to do.”

SACHA MILLSTONE:

Right, and that’s what we hear every day. So one of the problems is the rules, and how is it going to be conducted, this roll-call vote? So, what I understand is, some of the delegations will be voting at breakfast. Other delegations can choose to actually vote on the floor of the convention. Exactly what time that would happen is not known. So, if delegations don’t vote at breakfast, then they need to be present at gavel-down, because, essentially, whenever they do call for the voting inside the convention, it will be a thirty-minute process.

AMY GOODMAN:

Patricia Wilson-Smith, the article goes on to say, “The evening event” — which would be tonight — “would call on the delegation from Illinois, which Obama serves as the junior senator, and then move to New York, which Clinton represents.

“After New York delegates applaud Clinton’s long-fought and historic candidacy, a motion would be made to accept the votes cast at breakfast.
“The move is being resisted by some Clinton delegates, who are busy tonight” — that was last night — “circulating a petition among delegates as the opening night of the convention, titled ‘One Nation,’ gets underway.”

PATRICIA WILSON-SMITH:

You know, I think that Senator Clinton, herself, did as much as anybody could to help us to begin to move past this. I think that we should absolutely do what we can to honor her and honor what she’s done. And how the vote actually turns out, how we actually logistically do that, I don’t think is as important as getting it done, honoring her as best we can, and moving forward so that we can begin to do the work to get Senator Obama elected. It’s critical.

AMY GOODMAN:

I spoke to New York Congress member Jose Serrano on the convention floor. He had been a vocal supporter of Hillary Rodham Clinton during her campaign. I caught up with him at the Pepsi Center and asked him about the Clinton-Obama divide.

    REP. JOSE SERRANO: Hillary Clinton won a big victory for herself, for New York, for progressive ideas and for women. She happened to be running the year when there was a man also making a historic run. My fear is that she will now diminish or take some luster away from that by putting us through a roll call.

    Here’s my personal situation. When she told the world, “I’m out,” and prepared to endorse Obama, the New York delegation endorsed Obama. Then, the New York Senate and Assembly delegation endorsed Obama. Then the City Council delegation endorsed Obama. Then my son, Senator Serrano, and I personally endorsed Obama. Why would you put us through a situation now where we will be voting for Obama and then, supposedly, I heard, she’s going to tell my son, who is an elected delegate, “I am putting my name in nomination, but don’t vote for me”? That will be the first time in the history of American politics that a person has said, “I’m running, but don’t vote for me.” The right-wing talk show radio hosts will have a ball with that.

    What she needs to do is come on this stage and say, “The intent to put my name in nomination is a statement by itself. This was a historic run, but we’re not here about me. We’re here for Obama.” Don’t put people through that. You can’t do this. It makes no sense. It’s over. She told us it was over. Didn’t she, on a Saturday, have a big event and endorse Obama in D.C.? I don’t get it. I’ve been in public office thirty-five years, sixteen in the state assembly, nineteen in Congress. I think I know a little bit about politics. I don’t understand this.

    AMY GOODMAN:

    What about those who say the names are always entered into nomination, like Ted Kennedy and others?

    REP. JOSE SERRANO: Not when you have such a historic moment for Obama, not when you have a race that was that close and may have some feelings that you can fire up, that are dormant right now, and not when you have the first possibility of an African American, and you’re going to have somebody appear to be taking away from that moment. And I was a Hillary supporter in two languages, you know?

AMY GOODMAN:

That was New York Congress member Jose Serrano, speaking from the convention floor. He had supported Hillary Rodham Clinton and has now switched his support to Obama. I wanted to get your thoughts, Dolores Huerta.

DOLORES HUERTA:

Well, I think that Mr. Serrano, whom I admire him very much, is not considering feelings. And there are a lot of hurt feelings, especially among the women, because we all feel — and it’s quite obvious — that Hillary was not treated very well by the media, the major media, the corporate media. There was a lot of misogyny there, and we feel that she didn’t get a fair shake. And I don’t think it takes anything away from Obama. I mean, he is bigger than that. Obama is much bigger than that, and this is not going to take away from him at all.

The one thing that came out of the convention floor last night is that after Hillary’s speech, there was such energy that came out of that convention. I remember the night before, coming out of the convention, I was really tired. But after that speech, we were all just dancing in the street, basically, because, you know, she just energized everybody. And this is the kind of energy that we’re going to need to win this election. It’s historical for Obama, and this candidacy is going to take us so much forward in our country. But it’s also historical that Hillary also be recognized for what she did.

PATRICIA WILSON-SMITH:

Can I just say one thing to the point that you just made? I’ve heard over and over again from Hillary supporters that basically the media didn’t treat her very well. I think the argument could be made for Senator Obama, as well. He definitely took his hits in the media also. But having said that, you know, nobody’s more conflicted about this than I am. At the beginning, I was very much a Hillary Clinton supporter, at the very beginning. But the time has come for us to basically —

AMY GOODMAN:

What changed for you? When were you a Clinton supporter, and why did you shift?

PATRICIA WILSON-SMITH:

Well, I mean, Barack Obama came out of nowhere, let’s face it. It was probably around February 2007. I didn’t know who Barack Obama was. I very much knew who Hillary and Bill Clinton were, and so I naturally gravitated toward them.

And then I read The Audacity of Hope, and it completely changed my perspective on how politics should be handled in this country. And I knew, when I read that book, that I had to do everything in my power to make sure that he became the president of the United States, even though I knew it was a long shot.

So I think that there definitely has been two historic primary campaigns run. I think the media has been unfair to Senator Hillary Clinton, I think the media has been unfair to Barack Obama. But I think that it really is time, now, especially with that wonderful speech she gave yesterday, for us as Democrats to begin to move past this so that we can get Senator Obama elected.

AMY GOODMAN:

Sacha Millstone, are you going to vote for Barack Obama?

SACHA MILLSTONE:

At this convention, I am going to proudly cast my vote for Hillary Clinton. I am an elected Hillary Clinton delegate, and that’s what I’m here to do.

AMY GOODMAN:

When it comes to the general election in November?

SACHA MILLSTONE:

I haven’t decided. I’m here now focusing on the struggle to just get an actual floor vote for Hillary Clinton. It has not been easy.

The question is, really, in my mind, how does one get to unity? And we talked here quite a bit about this is a very normal process, it happens almost all the time at almost every convention. You cannot tell people to unify.

One of the reasons, I think, that we have this process is so that everybody who has fought so hard for their candidate and who believes that their candidate is the best, because we don’t get to be delegates if we don’t passionately believe that —

PATRICIA WILSON-SMITH:

But Sacha, don’t we —

SACHA MILLSTONE:

Excuse me, I’d like to finish please.

PATRICIA WILSON-SMITH:

I’m sorry, I’m sorry.

SACHA MILLSTONE:

So one of the reasons that we’re here is to express that intent and that emotion and to cast a vote for our candidates. That is a process through which you can get to unification.

Unfortunately, I think one of the hallmarks of this particular convention, which is different than others that I’ve attended, is that you’re not supposed to be advocating for your candidate. Gary Hart talked eloquently about how, when his name was put in nomination, his people had a twenty-minute celebration, and they were able to, you know, cast their votes, and then they left the convention feeling unified. Unfortunately we’ve spent, on the Hillary side, months just trying to get a normal roll-call vote so that this can be part of history, because we know that when history is written, we want a roll-call vote to be recorded, so a hundred years from now people know what happened.

PATRICIA WILSON-SMITH:

I’m sorry. My frustration with this point of view around unification is that, as a party, aren’t we supposed to be unifying around the issues? Whenever a Hillary supporter tells me that they don’t know whether or not they’re going to vote for Barack Obama, I immediately get confused, because I don’t understand how two candidates who are so closely aligned from an issue standpoint could cause someone not to vote for the other candidate if their candidate doesn’t win.

I was completely prepared to vote for Hillary Clinton. I was frustrated as an Obama supporter, very passionate, very emotional, but I knew, in the end, that if we want to change the problems of this country, we had to vote for a Democrat and get them in office. And in the end, if there hadn’t been a roll call for Senator Obama, it wouldn’t have been an issue for me.

So that’s a source of frustration, I think, for Obama supporters, because we want to unify the party around the issues. We want to get away from eight years of Bush policies and start moving towards building the country that we know we can have and that Senator Obama can help us build.

SACHA MILLSTONE:

With all due respect, process and rules are important, too. And I think that if we’re going to get to a place of unity, it is not — you don’t go into — you don’t — when Hillary Clinton had her suspension speech, it doesn’t mean that everybody that supported her then automatically starts supporting Senator Obama. And that should not be expected or required. There is a process. We’re going through it. And we’re proud Democrats — longtime Democrat my entire life — to be going through this process, and I just think it’s a very healthy process. And as Dolores said, it’s not a process that hurts Barack Obama at all.

AMY GOODMAN:

Dolores Huerta?

DOLORES HUERTA:

Well, I believe that — again, referring to last night — at the end of the evening, you could see so many Hillary supporters that were uplifted, and that’s basically what they needed. They needed to be acknowledged. The campaign had to be acknowledged. And this is sort of a healing process. When Hillary Clinton said that she believed that we need some catharsis, that definitely was what happened last night at the convention floor. That catharsis took place.

And once people can get their feelings adjusted, it’s not going to be enough to vote for Barack. We have to go out there and work very, very hard. This is not going to be a slam-dunk election, even though it would seem so, again, on the issues that the Democrats would be able to walk into the White House. But we’ve got all of these other things that we’ve got to deal with. And we have to say it. We’ve got the racism out there. We’ve got the fact that a lot of people don’t really know who Barack is. And so, it’s not going to be enough just to vote for Barack Obama. We’re going to have to go out there and work very, very hard to really introduce him and to motivate people to work hard for him.

AMY GOODMAN:

And Dolores Huerta, how do you feel about that? And can you talk about the Latino community — of course, there are many different communities in this country, Latino communities — but the feelings within the Latino community for Barack Obama?

DOLORES HUERTA:

They just don’t know the man, and that is what we have to do. And whatever, you know, hurt feelings people might have out there about Hillary Clinton, we’ve got to say, we understand how you feel and your disappointment or whatever, but now we’ve, you know, got to heal, and we’ve got to get out there and get this man elected to president, because there is so — it’s not just about the United States of America, we’re talking about our world is at stake here in this election.

AMY GOODMAN:

Dolores Huerta, I hear that from you, I hear that from Patricia Wilson-Smith, but Sacha Millstone, you don’t seem so set on saying, “But it’s got to be a Democratic president.”

SACHA MILLSTONE:

I do not — I am so involved in the process, here and now, it has been such a fight just to be able to do this, and we’re not finished with this process. So it’s hard for me to look beyond it at this moment.

AMY GOODMAN:

What is the pain that you feel around how Hillary Rodham Clinton was treated, not by the mainstream press, but by the Barack Obama camp, the campaign? Can you explain to listeners and viewers what it is that made you feel that Hillary Rodham Clinton was disrespected?

SACHA MILLSTONE:

That is a complex question. I can tell you there are two major pieces of it. One is that the nominating process itself is a very flawed process in the Democratic Party. Almost every step of the way, starting with Florida and Michigan — I don’t want to get back into that, but I’m just saying that was an issue — and going to the Rules and Bylaws Committee, talking about caucuses, where there were all kinds of problems all across the country, and then, finally, the issue of the superdelegates, it’s a very flawed process. So that is part of the problem.

The other problem, which Dolores referred to, is the enormous sexism, and it isn’t just that there was sexism. It’s that nobody stood up and said it’s unacceptable. You know, you cannot do this. You cannot say —- you cannot put up signs that say “Iron my shirt.” You cannot -—

AMY GOODMAN:

Where did you see that?

SACHA MILLSTONE:

I didn’t see it. It was on — I was at a rally. I don’t remember where I saw it on television. But I mean, it was held up at a rally.

AMY GOODMAN:

But do you contend that was put forward by the Barack Obama —

SACHA MILLSTONE:

Oh, heavens, no. No, I contend that no one said this is completely unacceptable. If it was a Barack Obama rally, and someone said, “Shine my shoes,” I think everyone would have said, “That is completely unacceptable.” But no, it wasn’t that.

So, anyway, these are things that have caused a lot of hurt feelings and what — and they are problems. And so, if we are to unify and move beyond it, you know, we can’t just be told that we have to. So that’s the problem.

AMY GOODMAN: We’re going to come back to this discussion. After we conclude our discussion about the Clinton-Obama divide, we’re going to talk about, while the festivities are going on in Denver, Colorado, what happened in Mississippi — again, one of the largest US immigration raids in history, over 600 people rounded up. This is Democracy Now! Our guests: Patricia Wilson-Smith from Georgia, an Obama delegate; Sacha Millstone, a Clinton delegate; Dolores Huerta, a Clinton delegate, who may well be placing Hillary Rodham Clinton’s name into nomination tonight from the podium at the Pepsi Center in Denver. Stay with us.

[break]

AMY GOODMAN: We’re talking about this historic convention that is taking place. Hillary Rodham Clinton spoke last night. Tomorrow night, Barack Obama will be nominated to be president. It’s expected around 70,000 people will be there to cheer him on.

Our guests are three delegates. Dolores Huerta, of the Dolores Huerta Foundation, co-founder of United Farm Workers, she’s a longtime Clinton supporter. She has campaigned for her all over the country. She may well be entering her name into nomination tonight from the podium. Sacha Millstone is with us, a Boulder, Colorado Clinton delegate. Patricia Wilson-Smith is founder of Black Women for Obama. She made it from Georgia — you almost didn’t.

PATRICIA WILSON-SMITH:

Almost didn’t make it. Really, it just —- it became a set of issues around kind of some personal things. My mom has been through some very serious surgery, that kind of thing. But I was determined, because -—

AMY GOODMAN:

You had to raise money for weeks.

PATRICIA WILSON-SMITH:

Yeah, and we had to raise money. We had to raise money to make the trip. But in the end, you know, none of the obstacles meant anything. It was more important to me, first of all, to be part of the political process, because it is the first convention I’ve ever participated in. And secondly, of course, because I’ve been working so tirelessly over the last year and a half for Senator Obama, I wanted to make the trip and complete the cycle. So none of the obstacles mean anything at this point. It’s been an amazing experience, and I’m really, really happy to be here.

AMY GOODMAN:

I wanted to go back to this issue — although, Sacha Millstone, you say, “I’m not thinking about this at all” — I think this is shocking like to someone like Jose Serrano, the Congress member, who a long time supported Hillary Clinton, now supporting Barack Obama, the issue of, how could you come out of the convention and then conceivably, possibly, sort of leave it open to vote for John McCain? If you could just say whether or not yet you’ve decided at this point, which clearly you haven’t, what appeals to you about him?

SACHA MILLSTONE:

Absolutely nothing. I never said —

AMY GOODMAN:

So, how could you vote for him?

SACHA MILLSTONE:

I never said I would. I never said that I was considering voting for John McCain. The question is, am I going to vote for Barack Obama?

AMY GOODMAN:

Who else might you vote for?

SACHA MILLSTONE:

There are choices. I mean, there are other choices. And there’s also a choice to not cast a vote or to write in Hillary’s name. I mean, there are choices that I have and that other people have.

AMY GOODMAN:

Ralph Nader is actually holding a rally today in Denver. Cynthia McKinney has been speaking all over Denver, the Green Party candidate. Ralph Nader, independent. Are they possibilities for you?

SACHA MILLSTONE:

For me, I truly — I’m not even thinking about those kinds of issues right now. But I just — I just feel that the process that we’ve gone through has been so unusual and so flawed that it makes it very hard for me to, you know, feel completely comfortable at this moment.

AMY GOODMAN:

Can, Dolores Huerta, you talk about the process of the speech? I was reading in the headlines today about Hillary Rodham Clinton’s staff not wanting Barack Obama’s staff to even see the final draft of her address. This acrimony it seems, well, right up until now, it has not been resolved.

DOLORES HUERTA:

Well, I think there’s probably still some trust issues that need to be developed. And I’m not speaking for, of course, anybody but myself. And I also believe that for many women, there was almost like a depression that happened, I have to say, even for myself, after Hillary was not the nominee. And it’s like when you’re in that kind of a depression, you sort of have to come out of it. And I think this is what has been happening to a lot of people.

And maybe because I’m a person of color myself, it’s easier for me to then say and really, you know, get excited about Barack Obama, because we, as women of color, we not only face the sexism in the society, but we also face — you know, have the racism. And then, of course, with me, the ageism also kicks in. So, you know, I guess I’m maybe more understanding of all of the different issues. And so, I can understand — that’s why I say the feelings are important.

I think it’s very, very important — and I’ve said this to Barack, I’ve met with him twice —- and my message to him has been the same every time I’ve met with him, that, you know, he’s got to really reach out to the women. We need to have a women’s campaign. We never had this under Kerry. You remember, Amy? We talked then, because Kerry never put together a women’s campaign. And I’m talking about a women’s campaign where you have women that [inaudible] issues -—

AMY GOODMAN:

I remember seeing you —

DOLORES HUERTA: Right.

AMY GOODMAN:

— in 2004, and you said you were spearheading Women for Kerry or something. You were the head of it, and they were celebrating you, but then you said you had no resources to carry through, no finance.

DOLORES HUERTA:

We had no budget. It was a big secret. I mean, people say, “Oh, you were?” You know, and this is what I think Barack has to do. And we’ve got to reach out, on a very personal level, to women and make them understand that they’re important to this campaign. And same thing to the Latino community. And it isn’t that they’re against Barack, but because there’s — you know, we just don’t know him enough. And so, he’s really got to do a lot to reach out — and I know he doesn’t have a lot of time.

AMY GOODMAN:

Can you describe your meetings with him, Barack Obama?

DOLORES HUERTA:

Oh, they have been really wonderful. And what I said to Barack — and I quoted Walter Fauntroy, who was, you know, the congressperson from — without a vote — from the District of Columbia. And Walter Fauntroy said way back — and this was back, I guess, in the ’80s or so — that, you know, we can call the elections. You know, black, brown, women, all of us together, and white men of conscience, we are the majority, and we can call the elections. And so, I’ve always remembered him saying that and that he was kind of predicting what would happen in the future. And we’re at that point now, where we can call the elections, and we can get progressive candidates elected and really, you know, take care of these issues that have been the cancers in our society for so long and get away with them. And I think this is what Barack’s candidacy stands for, because he can be a unifier. But there’s got to be some work done to make that happen.

AMY GOODMAN:

What do you need most done right now? Now, you were a vocal campaigner. We were trying to catch up with you all over the country. You were traveling for Hillary Rodham Clinton. Are you going to do the same for Barack Obama?

DOLORES HUERTA:

Yes, I am. I’m going to get out there, and I’m going to work very hard, because we all know that all of these issues that we have — the immigration issues you’re going to talk about, the issues of racism, our education, you know, with healthcare — we can just go down the line. No jobs, the whole prison system. And we have a society that is in crisis right now. And we’ve got to come together.

And Hillary made it so clear last night. She said, “You weren’t supporting me because of Hillary. You were supporting me because of the issues that I stand for, the progressive issues.” And that’s what we have to constantly get out and remind people of. And seeing that, yes, she was our leader, she was our — you know, our flag carrier, but she was carrying the flag for the issues that we care about.

AMY GOODMAN:

Patricia Wilson-Smith, does it make you angry when you hear people saying they might not support Barack Obama — well, like Sacha Millstone, who knows who she’ll support? But what do you feel you need to do to convince someone like Sacha to vote for Barack Obama?

PATRICIA WILSON-SMITH:

It doesn’t make me angry. I care too much about this country to resort to anger. Number one, I believe Senator Obama had a very, very strong outreach program for women, unlike Senator Kerry, a huge organization, very organized, very vocal for women’s issues.

I think that it’s unfortunate that there are so many people that are so passionate about Hillary Clinton, the woman, that they have difficulty understanding what’s at stake in this election. So, you know, rather than be angry about it, I want to do what I can to work towards helping women understand what’s at stake and helping them get to know Senator Obama better, because I really do believe that, for where we are right now, he’s the best leader. And because he has won the nomination, I think we need to rally round him and make it happen.

AMY GOODMAN:

If her name is placed in nomination on the convention floor tonight, will that make a big difference to you, Sacha Millstone?

SACHA MILLSTONE:

I fully expect that her name will be placed, and it’s incredibly important, and I’m very proud to be part of the group of delegates that ensured that would happen. And it does make a huge difference, not just for me, but for generations to come.

AMY GOODMAN:

We’ll leave it there. I want to thank you all for being with us. Sacha Millstone is a Clinton delegate from Boulder, Colorado. Dolores Huerta, of the Dolores Huerta Foundation, co-founder of United Farm Workers, a very vocal Clinton supporter who will now support Barack Obama. And Patricia Wilson-Smith is founder of Black Women for Obama. She is from Georgia, a Georgia delegate.

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