Cold shoulders, bitter speeches, and "chilliness" are not terms you'd hope to find at a unity breakfast, but such was the case among Democrats who attended an event in Selma, Alabama this weekend. The Martin Luther King and Coretta Scott King Unity Breakfast was part of the annual Selma Bridge Crossing Jubilee. The jubilee is held in remembrance of the Bloody Sunday March of 1965 and a celebration of the Civil Rights Act.
Once given the mic, Democrats in attendance turned Sunday into an airing of grievances about how the past few elections were stolen from them. One speaker, for instance, used the stage to sound off on how Hillary Clinton, who was awarded the International Unity Award at Sunday's gathering, had been treated unfairly during the 2016 presidential election.
"She won the election, and it was stolen from her," according former Alabama state senator Hank Sanders. "It was stolen from her by the FBI. It was stolen from her by the Russians."
Sen. Sherrod Brown (D-OH) was also bitter about the conclusion of Georgia's gubernatorial race, where former Secretary of State Brian Kemp prevailed over Stacey Abrams.
Sherrod Brown at Selma unity breakfast: "We know that in Georgia, they stole the election from who should have been governor."
— Dave Weigel (@daveweigel) March 3, 2019
Abrams, too, did not concede lightly. She bowed out of the race on November 16, but blamed her loss on voter suppression. Her opponent, Republican Brian Kemp, was also serving as the state's chief elections administrator.
"Democracy failed in Georgia," she claimed at the time.
Clinton agreed that Abrams was the rightful winner.
"Stacey Abrams should be governor, leading that state, right now," Clinton said in her remarks on Sunday in Selma.
Speaking of Clinton, she didn't exactly receive the warmest welcome from a former rival at the breakfast. Just a few days after Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-VT) told the women on "The View" that he'd probably not be seeking Hillary Clinton's advice in 2020, the two reportedly barely acknowledged each other on Sunday. The most the Washington Post's Matt Viser saw was a brief handshake.
When Cory Booker left the stage here in Selma, Hillary Clinton stood and gave a big hug. The warmth was palpable. When Bernie Sanders left the stage, she stood and, as he was briskly walking past, it appeared they briefly shook hands. The chilliness was palpable.
— Matt Viser (@mviser) March 3, 2019
This is all very reminiscent of the 2017 "unity tour," courtesy of the DNC.