These NC residents helped write the Democratic platform
PHILADELPHIA (WTVD) -- Before this week's tumultuous start to the Democratic National Convention, a much smaller group of Hillary Clinton supporters and Bernie Sanders delegates were in another hard-nosed fight.
This one was over the Democratic platform, which spells out what the party stands for. It was hard work, and four North Carolinians helped write it.
"It was intense," said Bruce Thompson, a Clinton delegate from Raleigh. "I mean it wasn't a rubber stamp situation."
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Haakon Thorson, of Charlotte, was the lone Sanders delegate from the Tar Heel State.
"We kept going until 2 a.m. the first day, and we were back at it at 9 a.m.," Thorson said.
Sanders and his supporters pushed hard to move the party in a more progressive direction. The platform recognizes the Black Lives Matter movement, calls for an end to the death penalty, and a raise in the minimum wage.
Big energy and environmental issues were among the most contentious topics. Sanders' reps called for a ban on fracking, while Clinton reps won a compromise.
"It is not like you are going to give everything away," said Clinton delegate Linda Gunter of Cary. "You have to compromise and there was a lot of work behind the scenes."
Mary Morgan, a Clinton delegate from Raleigh, said: "I don't think we really ended up giving up a lot. We had a lot of common ground."
The Sanders supporter seemed to agree.
"I think it is tremendous," Thorson said. "It is the most progressive platform the Democratic Party has had in its history."
But as Thompson points out, this is just a beginning.
"We've got to prove that we are going to back up what's in those documents," Thompson said. "Because right now, it's just a piece of paper."
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