Marty Schladen

El Paso Times

It’s not optimal to start the Democratic National Convention with a controversy over leaked emails that cost the chairwoman of the Democratic National Committee her job, said U.S. Rep. Beto O’Rourke.

But if it brings reform by shining a light on the role that big money plays in the functioning of the major parties, the disclosure will be a good thing, the super delegate and congressman from El Paso said in a phone interview Monday from Philadelphia.

O’Rourke, Texas Sen. Jose Rodriguez and Texas Rep. Cesar Blanco are among the El Paso Democrats who are in a sweltering Philadelphia for a Democratic convention that opened Monday and concludes on Thursday.

Blanco, a rising star in the Democratic Party, on Monday afternoon said that he hoped a speech by Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders and one on Thursday by presumptive nominee Hillary Clinton can heal a rift between Sanders' supporters and a party establishment whom they believe to be too much in the thrall of wealthy interests.

“We have to come together as a party,” Blanco said, calling GOP nominee Donald Trump a “racist” and a “bigot.” “I think the voters are looking for a party to bring people together.”

The quest for unity wasn’t helped Friday by an anonymous dump of hacked emails between staffers of the Democratic National Committee.

Some analysts concluded that hacks into committee servers discovered in June were initiated by two Russian intelligence agencies. On Sunday, Clinton campaign manager Robby Mook said the emails were leaked “by the Russians for the purpose of helping Donald Trump,” the New York Times reported.

O’Rourke and Blanco said it’s too early to reach conclusions about the source of the leak, but they said their contents were not helpful to Democrats.

Some appear to confirm Sanders’ accusations that DNC staffers, who are supposed to stay neutral during primaries, were trying to help Clinton. Some Sanders supporters were protesting loudly in the streets of Philadelphia on Monday prior to the convention’s start, NPR reported.

“I think they have every right to be upset and disappointed,” O’Rourke said.

But even worse than the committee’s lack of neutrality in the primaries, O’Rourke said, are revelations in the emails about how far staffers go in accommodating big donors.

“It kind of shows how major party politics works on both sides,” O’Rourke said, adding that he hopes the disclosure leads to reform so that the American political system “doesn’t die of legalized corruption.”

Despite the controversy, Blanco and O’Rourke said they’re looking forward to the convention.

Blanco said it’s important to draw a contrast with a Republican National Convention last week in which Trump dwelt on fears associated with immigration and terrorism. Clinton needs to highlight the diversity of the Democratic Party and her own accomplishments, he said.

“She has to demonstrate what the Democrats stand for,” Blanco said.

O’Rourke said Clinton also would be wise to take a page from Sanders’ book.

“She needs to define her vision for the country; not just say ‘Vote for me because (Trump is) so awful,” O’Rourke said. “I think that’s something Bernie Sanders did an excellent job of.”

Marty Schladen can be reached at 512-479-6606;mschladen@gannett.com; @martyschladen on Twitter.