Government & Politics

Sarah Silverman scolds fellow Bernie Sanders fans, wins Twitter on first night of Democratic convention

By Lisa Gutierrez

lgutierrez@kcstar.com

Paul Simon sang “Bridge Over Troubled Waters” on the first night of the Democratic National Convention. But did it work?

Not for him, because Twitter lashed out at him with harsh reviews.

Simon took the stage right after comedian Sarah Silverman, a Bernie Sanders supporter, scolded fellow Sanders’ fans who chanted “Bernie, Bernie” when she said she was voting for Hillary Clinton.

It was a mic drop of epic political proportions, and Twitter ate it up.

The Twitter chatter started off even before prime time when Bernie supporter and state representative from Maine, Diane Russell, quoted Harry Potter wizard Dumbledore, headmaster of Hogwarts.

“You know, Dumbledore from Harry Potter once said, it takes great courage to stand up to your enemies. It takes even greater courage to stand up to your friends,” Russell said in her call for unity.

“Obviously, we’ve had a real family disagreement over the role of superdelegates in our party’s nominating process.”

To which Twitter said: What?

And then, Demi Lovato talked about her mental illness and segued straight into a performance of her hit, “Confident.” Love it? Hate it? Twitter did both.

Ken Jeong gifted social media with a new catch phrase in a Funny or Die skit lampooning Trump products made overseas, a fact Jeong reacted to by screeching, “holy Melania!”

Sen. Al Franken, D-Minn., spoke and reminded people that he used to be a comedian before he was a politician.

According to the Los Angeles Times, people in the Vermont delegation booed Silverman when she said she would vote for Clinton.

“Can I just say,” Silverman said, “to the Bernie or Bust people, you’re being ridiculous.”

Twitter. Lit. Up.

Sen. Cory Booker from New Jersey blew the roof off with a speech that moved the pundits to compare it to the breakout speech Barack Obama gave at the 2004 convention. He even inspired a hashtag - #WeWillRise - when he quoted Maya Angelou’s poem, “And Still I Rise.”

Democrats wondered whether they were watching a future president. Republicans went, “meh.”

First Lady Michelle Obama, who was greeted with the biggest applause of the night until Sanders came out, gave Twitter another catch phrase to retweet when she said this is what she tells her daughters about bullies: “When they go low, we go high.”

Even the French ambassador to the United States tweeted a good review.

But of course, not all of Twitter was impressed by Monday’s show.

Lisa Gutierrez: 816-234-4987, @lisaginkc

This story was originally published July 25, 2016 at 10:24 PM with the headline "Sarah Silverman scolds fellow Bernie Sanders fans, wins Twitter on first night of Democratic convention."

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