The annual Netroots Nation political conference, being held here this year, isn't just supposed to be friendly to progressive candidates. It is an applause-filled jaunt that can add luster to campaigns whose candidates want to be standard-bearers of the liberal wing of the Democratic Party.
That was far from the case on Saturday, the showcase day of the five-day event that began Wednesday, as former Maryland Gov. Martin O’Malley and Sen. Bernie Sanders of Vermont found themselves face-to-face with protesters, led by supporters of the "Black Lives Matter" movement.
"Black Lives Matter" was born out of the fatal shooting of a black man, 18-year-old Michael Brown, by a white police officer last August in Ferguson, Mo.