Sen. Hillary Clinton moved to suspend the roll-call vote on the floor of the Democratic National Convention today, a symbolic gesture toward party unity. She had released her presidential delegates to Sen. Barack Obama earlier in the day. Some delegates continued to vote for her, however, until she interrupted the vote at 4:50 p.m. EDT so that Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi could call for Obama’s nomination.
But in the days leading up to the vote, many delegates were committed to voting for Clinton regardless of what process was worked out. Sylvia Woods, a delegate from Knoxville, Tenn., said at a Tuesday event hosted by the National Organization for Women (NOW) that she planned to vote for Clinton:
“I am a Hillary delegate, and the people that voted for me expected me to vote for Hillary. We feel it is an obligation to vote for her.”
Woods, a bookkeeper, said that she was insulted by Obama supporters who called her for money and support before Clinton conceded the race. “Give me time to grieve,” she said. “They started on us before we had time to grieve. They were pushing and saying, ‘You have to,’ when no, you don’t have to. They should have said, ‘Let me show you how you can get your issues settled by going for Obama.’”
Even so, Woods said, she will back Obama in the general election. “[Clinton] told us to look forward, and we will do that,” she said. “When we leave here, we will be Obama supporters.”
