Democratic leaders weighing concessions for Bernie Sanders

With tensions rising between the Bernie Sanders campaign and the Democratic National Committee, Democratic leaders are nearing agreement on a number of concessions to Sanders at the Democratic National Convention in Philadelphia in July. A Sanders aide has said the senator from Vermont either wants to change how the Democrats pick their nominee or get more of his policy ideas into the Democratic Party platform, and the latter option is the opening gambit from the DNC, The Washington Post reports, adding that the DNC and Sanders and Hillary Clinton campaigns could complete negotiations by the end of the week.

There are three main committees at the convention — platform, rules, and credentials — and the final deal will probably include more Sanders loyalists on each committee than he was first offered, but not the 50-50 split he asked for. The platform changes the Sanders camp will push for include a $15 minimum wage and a more balanced policy on Israel and the Palestinians, The Post reports, citing an unidentified Sanders campaign aide. The Israel shift is probably a nonstarter, but both Sanders and Clinton backers are urging the DNC to meet some of Sanders' requests.

“There are other chairs who probably feel that way, and feel like this is my party and f--k Bernie Sanders,” Ken Marin, the chairman of Minnesota's Democratic-Farmer Labor Party and a Clinton supporter, tells The Washington Post. "I'm not one of those. I feel very passionately that we have to open up that party and make sure that those voices are heard."

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