Yesterday, on Twitter and Facebook a post was making the rounds that Bernie had been "threatened" by the Clinton campaign" with losing all the concessions he achieved on the DNC platform, unless he endorsed Clinton. Here is a screenshot of the text of that post:

Last night, after reaching out to many of the people who had either posted or tweeted this statement, I tracked down the original source, Ashley Wolthuis, a Sanders delegate from Utah, who was kind enough to return my "cold call" to her cell phone. Here is what she told me.

The basic thrust of the post shown above is accurate, she said, but the use of the term that Bernie was "threatened" she explained was overblown. She did indeed have conversations with various delegates associated with both campaigns, and she said it was "common knowledge" among most delegates that the Clinton campaign was insisting on Bernie making an endorsement prior to the convention if the more progressive parts of the platform would be retained. The talk among her the those with whom she associated, both Clinton and Sanders supporters, was that Bernie understood Hillary needed Sanders' supporters and that was the only reason she made any concessions at all regarding the positions on the DNC platform for which the Sanders campaign fought.

So, yes, Bernie made the decision to "endorse" her yesterday. However, in her view, Sanders ambushed Hillary on stage with the speech he gave, which forced her to, as I said yesterday in my video, give a "Bernie Sanders speech." She directed me to read this article by Chris Cillizza in the Washington Post, which she felt best explained what happened on that stage the two of them shared yesterday.

[A]ll of the speeches Sanders delivered up until today's in Portsmouth were aimed at explaining to Democratic voters why he would make a better nominee than Hillary Clinton. The speech today was, ostensibly, an endorsement of Clinton's presidential campaign. But, really, it wasn't. Yes, I know that's how it was billed by the Clinton and Sanders camps. And, yes, he did say this: "I have come here to make it as clear as possible as to why I am endorsing Hillary Clinton and why she must become our next president." (It was the only time that Sanders used the words "endorse" or "endorsing" in a speech that ran 2,161 words...) [...] ... Clinton stood by his side throughout this recitation of his successes, nodding her head politely with a smile etched on her face. But it's hard to imagine that she or her campaign team were thrilled with Sanders touting just how well he had done — and how much better than everyone expected! — as the lead-in to his long-awaited endorsement. But, surely, Sanders was simply touting his successes as a way of winding up to the big moment when he acknowledged — even subtly — that Clinton's more moderate, cautious and pragmatic definition of "Democrat" had trumped (ahem) his more liberal, populist one? Nope! Not really. What followed in the speech was a laundry list of Sanders's talking points and policies supplemented with the phrases "Hillary believes" or "Hillary understands" or "Hillary knows" stuck in front of them.

According to Cillizza, Clinton put up with all of this because she knew she needed Sanders endorsement of her, though I also cannot imagine that she was very happy with the tone and content of Bernie's speech. Certainly that was what Ms. Wolthuis took away from what happened at that event yesterday.

Then she spoke to me about the conference cal that Bernie had with his delegates last night. Audio of the call, which can be heard here. But here are the main points of what he told his delegates, as Ms. Wolthuis stated to me,m and which mahakali_overdrive2 posted online at the Kossacks for Sanders reddit:

1. Sanders did not suspend his campaign. He said "absolutely there will be a roll call vote" at the convention, and he wants all his delegates at the convention to vote for him. Said the he and other of his surrogates will speak at the convention. 2. He praised the work of his representatives in obtaining significant changes to the platform that Clinton and DNC representatives opposed. 3. He said that he "knew the math." In other words, he knew he could not win the nomination in light of Clinton's lead in delegates and super delegates, but that he did not intend to give up the fight to advance progressive causes. 5. Said that within the "coming weeks" he will announce successor organizations to his campaign with the sole purpose of continuing the "political revolution" and promoting progressive causes and candidates in all fifty states. Does not want the energy of the progressive agenda to wither away. Said he will remain as figurehead of the movement, and that he will run again for his seat in the Senate in two years. 6. Said progressives need a 50 state policy to win back not only Congress, but also state houses and governorships from Republicans, and for that reason that he intends to support progressives both logistically and financially. Said he hopes to endorse, campaign for and support at least 100 progressive candidates in this election cycle, if not more. 7. He said his main goal in the short term was to fight to transform the Democratic party into a grassroots party and not a party controlled by big money donors. Said Democrats need less super delegates and more open primaries and much less dependence on big money donors. If this cannot be won in the Rules Committee, he will fight for it on the floor of the convention. 8. Said the after the convention, he believes Trump must be defeated and that will be his major effort, despite the big differences between Clinton and Sanders on many issues. Said he wants for personal reasons to have a Democratic Party majority in the Senate and House after the election. 9. Said he got Clinton to agree on the record to support free tuition for students attending public universities for families earning less than $125,000 per year. And also a program to help with student debt. 10. On health care coverage, he got Clinton on the record to commit to a "public option" under the ACA and a "opt in" for Medicare for people 55 years old or older. Also he said she agreed to double funding for community health centers, which includes dental care, mental health care and low cost prescription drugs for 15-20 million people across the country. 11. Regarding his campaigning for Clinton, said that part has not been worked out yet. 12. On TPP, he says it should not come up in the lame duck session. Says our job is make all current elected Democratic Senators and Representatives to openly oppose the TPP. Wants Clinton to more forcibly oppose it. Said we have to wage a national fight with every ally we can find, even with those Republicans who have doubts about it, to stop the TPP from being passed in the lame duck session. We need as much pressure on Obama as possible.

Sanders delegate Ashley Wolthuis was very upbeat after getting off the conference call last night. She was especially pleased to hear that Sanders will continue to head up the fight for progressive change and a political revolution, and in her words "remain a thorn in the side of the Democratic Party."

For me, I will wait to see what happens at the convention, but I will not vote for Trump or Clinton in my state of New York. In any case, I am glad to hear that Bernie has not given up the fight for a political revolution.