DNC chair warns Sanders supporters over 'harassment' tactics

Debbie Wasserman-Schultz says intimidation, communication that ‘feels like stalking’ are unacceptable when reaching out to superdelegates

The chairwoman of the Democratic National Committee suggested Thursday that supporters of presidential contender Bernie Sanders, who hopes to get the party’s nomination, may be viewed as using tactics that “border on harassment” to get superdelegates to vote for him.

In an interview with CNN, Debbie Wasserman-Schultz (D., Fla) said that a pro-Sanders website listing the names and contact information of superdelegates, while in itself “completely fine,” could be seen as “using tactics that border on harassment, that feel like stalking.”

“That we make sure that their supporters’ enthusiasm is fantastic, making sure we have appropriate contact and outreach is just great, but intimidation is not okay,” she said.

“And I am not suggesting that that’s occurring right now,” she cautioned. “But I think we need to make sure that we are careful about how we persuade, so to speak.”

Something amiss?

Democratic presidential candidate Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vermont, speaks during a campaign event, Saturday, April 9, 2016, in the Washington Heights neighborhood of New York. (AP Photo/Mary Altaffer)

The Democratic party officials, who are unbound by state votes and can back either candidate, overwhelmingly support Clinton by a margin of 469-31, according to an AP count.

Wasserman-Schultz was not the first to suggest something was amiss.

Some superdelegates report being flooded with calls and threatening messages at their homes and offices. Isabel Framer, a DNC member from Ohio, said she received a threatening message at her office several weeks ago, calling her support for Clinton “crap.”

“After that message, the phone kept ringing,” Framer said. “It was just non-stop.”

Last week, Bob Mulholland, a longtime DNC member and Clinton superdelegate, wrote an open letter asking Sanders and his staff to publicly call for a stop of “harassing communications” committee members.

Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton, center, talks with Rep. Hakeem Jeffries, D-New York, right, and Council Member Laurie Cumbo as she sits at the counter of Junior's restaurant in the Brooklyn borough of New York, Saturday, April 9, 2016. (AP Photo/Seth Wenig) — Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton, center, talks with Rep. Hakeem Jeffries, D-New York, right, and Council Member Laurie Cumbo as she sits at the counter of Junior’s restaurant in the Brooklyn borough of New York, Saturday, April 9, 2016. (AP Photo/Seth Wenig)

Hillary Clinton also criticized the Sanders campaign.

“There seems to be a growing level of anxiety in that campaign which I hope doesn’t spill over into the way that his supporters treat other people who have every right to support whomever they chose,” she told reporters on Wednesday.

Tad Devine, a senior Sanders adviser, said the campaign has not encouraged its supporters to take any aggressive tactics in promoting the senator. “We want people to be courteous and respectful in dealing with anyone,” Devine said.