PHILADELPHIA _ The moment of unity appeared finally in reach.
A group of Bernie Sanders fans took the stage Tuesday at the breakfast meeting of the Texas Democratic Party after a tumultuous start to the party's national convention. They pledged to sit down, talk with the supporters of Hillary Clinton and come together at last.
And Denton, Texas, resident Russell Lytle, speaking for the Sanders crowd, seemed ready to offer the official olive branch. But he didn't.
"We want to be clear," he said. "We are currently condemning our current presumptive nominee."
Boos rained down, and a feel-good moment instantly became chaos.
While Democratic bigwigs insist they are unified heading into November _ if not directly behind Clinton, then certainly around stopping GOP nominee Donald Trump _ the thousands of Bernie fans who have shown up in force in Philadelphia are intent on sending a much different message.
They've stormed downtown, causing some tourists to stop in confusion over who actually won the nomination. Some are joining the Democratic Socialists of America in protest, fueled by an email leak that shows the Democratic National Committee favored Clinton during the party's long primary battle.
And with some Bernie backers still refusing to step in line, many Clinton supporters are finally fed up.
"You need to grow up," Jack Weiss of Euless, Texas, yelled back at the breakfast, decrying the language toward Clinton.
The call for unity was a priority for Democrats ahead of their nominating convention.
They watched with glee as the Republican National Convention in Cleveland last week turned into a divisive affair. Sen. Ted Cruz of Texas refused to endorse Trump during a prime-time speech.
And in theory, a solid Democratic front seemed attainable.
The Clintons remain a strong brand. The party has moved left on key issues, such as the minimum wage, at Sanders' urging. The Vermont senator has even offered a robust endorsement of his former foe in the name of defeating Trump.
"Brothers and sisters, this is the real world that we live in," he told supporters on Monday.
But Sanders backers want more on issues like income inequality, health care and trade. The DNC email scandal only stoked their worst fears. Clinton's pick of Virginia Sen. Tim Kaine, a relative moderate, as her running mate did little to assuage liberals.
And more than that is the die-hard Sanders supporters' conviction that the party needs a thorough scrubbing _ and no compromise will do.
The result is almost two conventions in one.
There's the official version.
"It doesn't matter what our little differences are," said Gilberto Hinojosa, chairman of the Texas Democratic Party. "It matters, ultimately, that people come together because we have the same goal in mind."
And then the unfiltered one.
"My objective is to destroy the Democratic Party," said Mike Davis, a 48-year-old Sanders supporter from Austin.
The Bernie backers have flexed their muscles early and often, practically overrunning Philly with a packed schedule of rallies, protests and marches.
Chants of "Bernie" could be heard all over, while screaming "Never Hillary" proponents lined the fence where delegates entered the convention. Support for Green Party candidate Jill Stein often seemed more noticeable on the streets than that for Clinton.
Despite efforts from party leaders to keep the peace, tensions occasionally boiled over during the first night of speaking.
At one point, a Texas Democratic official chewed out a Sanders delegate for shouting "Bernie" during Michelle Obama's speech. At another, only a reproving glance from Jacob Limon _ Sanders' Texas director _ caused another Sanders delegate to end a string of expletives.
And the blow-up at Tuesday's breakfast showed the challenge of reining in Sanders' revolution.
About 15 minutes of confusion followed Lytle's remarks, amid shouts and exchanges of hot words. Hinojosa suspended the morning program temporarily, as delegation and state party leaders huddled.
Limon and Garry Mauro, Clinton's authorized agent in Texas, said the plan had called for Sanders delegates to tell why they would vote for the Vermont senator in Tuesday night's roll call and express their zeal for an overhaul of campaign finance laws and party rules.
But in the end, they would stress they'll work together to try to defeat Trump.
"We've got to give them a way to express their passion," Mauro said of the Sanders delegates.
Lytle later apologized and gave up his credential. "I apologize for my poor choice of words, and hope that we can continue to ... work together towards the common goal of turning Texas blue," he said.
One Sanders delegate, Frank Archuleta of Windcrest, had already urged younger supporters to face a growing reality.
"Young folks don't want to endorse Hillary," he said. "But old folks know life's not fair and it's between Hillary Clinton and Donald Trump."
But other backers couldn't resist pressing their case.
Davis and his wife, Marnia, attracted a gaggle of fellow Texan Bernistas at a downtown rally by flying a Lone Star flag. The group fumed that the primary had been stolen from Sanders, as others around them carried signs saying Clinton should go to prison or worse.
Sarah Hernandez of Houston said she was particularly peeved that one of the leaked DNC emails referred to Latino voters as "brand loyal consumers." Though she admitted she might think differently if she lived in a swing state, she said she would not vote for Clinton.
"They are taking us for granted," the 22-year-old said.
And then there was the group of Texans that piled into a charter bus with delegates from Georgia and Connecticut to hear the Vermont senator speak on Monday afternoon. The ride was so ebullient, even some Sanders backers said were surprised by the enthusiasm.
As they approached the convention center, Justin Snider of Arlington, Texas, asked the bus to quiet for a moment.
"What I want to ask is for you to come together and unite the party by voting for the best candidate to beat Donald Trump," the 35-year-old said, before pausing.
The bus went silent, unsure if a Clinton fan was going to dampen their fun. But then Snider smiled: "That candidate just happens to be Bernie Sanders."
The bus burst into cheers, a party that would soon spill into the streets and beyond.
