What will Sanders’ supporters do?

A veteran Democratic Party operative in the Mahoning Valley sent the following text Monday in the midst of the turmoil that roiled the first day of the Democratic National Convention in Philadelphia:

“This convention reminds of 1980. But the Kennedy delegates [had] a lot more class.”

And therein lies the challenge for Hillary Clinton, the party’s presidential nominee, as she tries to win over the 13.1 million voters who made Bernie Sanders a major political force this election season.

Sanders, an independent U.S. senator from Vermont, launched his campaign for the Democratic nomination with little money and even less name recognition. The self-described Democratic socialist’s progressive message, however, resonated with voters who believe they’ve been marginalized.

To them, the four-day convention in Philadelphia represents the ultimate betrayal of their candidate by the Democratic Party and, therefore, their loyalty is not a given.

Sanders is aware a divided party could result in Republican Donald Trump winning the presidency in November, and he thus sought to quell the anger of his supporters with an unequivocal endorsement of Clinton.

But unlike 1980 when the Democratic Party succeeded in coming together after a bruising fight between the forces of President Jimmy Carter and his challenger Sen. Ted Kennedy, the situation today is uncertain at best – despite Sanders’ embrace of Clinton.

Thirty-six years ago, Kennedy stood before a packed Madison Square Garden in New York City and said, “For me, a few hours ago, this campaign came to an end. For all those whose cares have been our concern, the work goes on, the cause endures, the hope still lives, and the dream shall never die.”

In the end, the party unity that emerged from the convention was not enough to overcome Republican Ronald Reagan’s challenge of President Carter. Reagan won by a landslide.

In his speech Monday, Sanders also sought to assure his supporters their concerns and desires will not be forgotten.

“We need leadership in this country which will improve the lives of working families, the children, the elderly, the sick and the poor. We need leadership which brings our people together and makes us stronger – not leadership which insults Latinos, Muslims, women, African-Americans and veterans – and divides us.

“By these measures, any objective observer will conclude that – based on her ideas and her leadership – Hillary Clinton must become the next president of the United States. The choice is not even close.

“This election is about a single mom I saw in Nevada who, with tears in her eyes, told me that she was scared to death about the future because she and her young daughter were not making it on the $10.45 an hour she was earning. This election is about that woman and the millions of other workers in this country who are struggling to survive on totally inadequate wages.

“Hillary Clinton understands that if someone in America works 40 hours a week, that person should not be living in poverty. She understands we must raise the minimum wage to a living wage. And she is determined to create millions of new jobs by rebuilding our crumbling infrastructure – our roads, bridges, water systems and wastewater plants.

“But her opponent – Donald Trump – well, he has a very different view. He does not support raising the federal minimum wage of $7.25 an hour – a starvation wage. While Donald Trump believes in huge tax breaks for billionaires, he believes that states should actually have the right to lower the minimum wage below $7.25. What an outrage!”

Last night’s roll call of delegates lay bare the underlying challenge the Democratic Party faces: Clinton won the nomination with 2,838 delegates. Sanders received the support of 1,843 delegates. There were 55 abstentions.

A total of 2,382 delegates were needed to win the nomination. Clinton became the first woman to win the presidential nomination of a major political party.

As for the popular vote in the primaries and caucuses, Clinton, the former U.S. secretary of state and former U.S. senator from New York, received 16.8 million votes, to 13.1 million for Sanders.

Diehard Sanders supporters, of which there are millions, contend the Democratic Party establishment rigged the election in favor of former first lady Clinton.

But the reality is that both candidates knew the rules going in and should have understood what would be required of their campaigns to be successful.

While Sanders is right that his revolution was a rejection of traditional party politics, the fact remains, parties set the rules by which their presidential nominees are selected.

But many Sanders supporters aren’t swayed by such arguments. All they know is their man didn’t win the nomination and, therefore, they were cheated in some way.

Sitting out the general election or supporting the Green Party, however, will simply pave the way for Trump to win in November.

They would do well to give serious thought to the words Sanders spoke Monday night:

“I have known Hillary Clinton for 25 years. I remember her as a great first lady who broke precedent in terms of the role that a first lady was supposed to play as she helped lead the fight for universal health care. I served with her in the United States Senate and know her as a fierce advocate for the rights of children.

“Hillary Clinton will make an outstanding president, and I am proud to stand with her here tonight.”