Nevada was messy. It resulted from months of accusations of a rigged party system. Bernie expected to get two extra delegates. But a lot of his people didn’t show up at the state convention, so he only got his fair share based on the popular vote (full explanation here). As a result, Bernie’s supporters:

  ♦ Rushed the dias “screaming insults and obscenities directly at the volunteer chairwoman, Roberta Lange” (PolitiFact was there).
  ♦ One Bernie Bro brandished a chair overhead (video) before being talk out of who knows what.
  ♦ Supporters sent 1000+ texts and voicemails to Roberta Lange, many of them obscene or implicitly threatening (listen here).

Bernie’s Reaction. After three days, Bernie issued a full page reaction. The closest thing to repudiation was this: “it goes without saying that I condemn any and all forms of violence, including the personal harassment of individuals.” Of course it “goes without saying!” Not even the slimiest politician would say he supported “violence including personal harassment.” This has nothing to do with Nevada.

But before he said that, he said, “Party leaders in Nevada claim that the Sanders campaign has a ‘penchant for violence.’ That is nonsense.” The party leader was Roberta Lange, who had suffered personal harassment to the point she needed a police escort to go to the bathroom, had obscenities screamed at her, and receive 1,000+ harassing cell phone messages.

These mentioned “Praying to god someone shoots you in the FACE,” hoping she would be hung in public, and saying “we know where your grandkids go to school.”  Bernie’s tardy response to her was to say she was talking “nonsense,” with not one mention, then or later, of any event related to the convention.

Compare this to Bernie’s reaction on Feb. 7. When asked about the Bernie Bros, Sanders told CNN, “It’s disgusting. We don’t want that crap.” Bernie has changed his strategy. Or compare it to how a decent Republican treats a Democrat.

In 2008 a supporter of John McCain publicly called on the media to “peel the bark off Barack Hussein Obama.” Within hours, McCain announced “I absolutely repudiate such comments.” The offender responded “Why would John McCain repudiate me,” and stopped supporting McCain.

After Bernie’s non-repudiation, it’s easy to see why many of his supporters have made an ruckus (here, here, here) claiming no chairs were thrown in Nevada, so there was no violence.

So when Bernie said (May 23) that the he “will condemn violence,” but the convention “will be messy,” this is a dog-whistle to his supporters meaning, “I expect it to be like Nevada, where I didn’t notice any violence. Have at it.”