Written by David Starr   

After the chaotic happenings at the Nevada State Democratic Convention, the establishment media's reports highlighted the behavior of Sanders supporters, but failed to get to the root of the problem.

MSNBC, e.g., published a report ("Bernie Sanders under fire after Nevada convention chaos, 5/17/2016) by Alex Seitz-Wald stating that "Sanders supporters threw chairs, started fights and booed officials..." This was par for the course in other sources.

The Nevada State Democratic Party also made similar remarks about Sanders supporters. It accused the Sanders campaign of having a "penchant for violence."

While it's true that the convention was a raucous event, the accusations about throwing chairs and starting fights are apparently false. I checked out several videos, some on the Young Turks news site, and found that there was no chair-throwing or fist-fights. What was not highlighted in the media's reports was the behavior of convention Chair Roberta Lange. During a voice vote to see whether to continue to use a voice vote as a convention procedure, Sanders supporters were louder than Clinton supporters, yelling "Nay!" In a display of cynical arrogance, Lange declared the yeas have it and then she heavily pounded her gavel. Sanders supporters were livid, booing the result.

Lange violated two rules of the convention regarding voting and discussion. The result of the vote at the least wasn't clear. Lange then should have taken a vote of standing division (a head count). She didn't. Lange also is required to allow discussion on the issue at hand. She didn't allow that, either.

The "best" was saved for last. Lange wanted to conclude the convention, but Sanders supporters were still outraged by the conduct of Lange. A voice vote was "taken." Lange arrogantly rushed through the procedure. In the face of a loud nay by Sanders supporters to not conclude the convention, Lange again said the yeas have it. She then sarcastically announced that the convention was concluded, heavily pounded her gavel and walked off the stage.

In one of the videos I watched, I could hear a woman yell, "Fucking bitch!" and a man yell, "What the fuck was that!" Sanders supporters refused to leave, seeing what a farce Lange perpetrated.

There was also a problem with the delegate count. Sanders had 1,662 delegates attend while Clinton had 1,695. But 58 of the Sanders delegates were disqualified, the State Democratic Party claiming that they were not registered Democrats because they failed to meet the May 1st deadline. If those delegates were counted, Sanders would have had more delegates present than Clinton.

Bernie Sanders' response to the convention was not apologetic; and it should not have been. The accusation that the Sanders campaign has a penchant for violence was ridiculed by Sanders as nonsense. He said that his rallies across the country have been nonviolent and that he condemns any and all forms of violence. He added that violence was perpetrated against his campaign: shots were fired at his campaign office in Nevada, and the apartment complex where his staff were staying was broken into and ransacked.

The establishment media failing to report the root causes of the chaos at the convention is a cop out. Roberta Lange was not an innocent bystander in all this. While the subsequent threats against her via email were not warranted, Lange nevertheless violated the rules of the convention.

Lange and the DNC are as untrustworthy as the establishment media.