If you want to blame anybody for this blame my self-described Socialist friend and fellow father in the neighborhood. I was surprised when he inquired to see if I was going to vote for Ocasio-Cortez for Congress in the NY-14 primary. Gave him my whole spiel about not believing in electoral politics after Bernie was swindled by the #DNCFraud. He agreed. But he thought that defeating Crowley, the Neoliberal Wall St shill/protectorate, would be a worthwhile effort. I agreed.

Anyway, over the weekend I noticed Ocasio literature in the park. Got into two really good conversations with guys about politics. The first was a guitar teacher who stopped to talk guitar. But after watching a cop car go by on the pedestrian walkway on a Sunday afternoon (a disturbing regular thing) I launched into a tirade about these pawns of the oligarchy and segued into the Economic Terrorism of Wall St, health insurance privations, etc. At some point, he asked what I would consider myself. When I said socialist, he said without irony, "I'm shocked." I think he meant it. He had already seemed to me, after 10 minutes or so, of being a libertarian. But I made my case clearly and I could the wheels turning. He admitted I had a lot of very good points. We parted with a warm handshake and I said I'd come see his band and be in touch.

The second guy, probably in his 30's, clicked with me in an instant. Especially about the #DNCFraud and Hillary's litany of awfulness. Told me how he convinced his girlfriend at the time that Hillary was not what she appeared, and she came around. Said he also donated and volunteered for Bernie and was fed up with the whole thing, but admitted he'd vote for Ocasio.

That night I heard the buzzer at my front door and opened it to be greeted by a DSA canvasser. Lots more of the same. We both agreed the system was so rife with corruption that elections couldn't be trusted, but I thanked him nonetheless for his efforts (I'd been in his shoes many time). I asked him if he knew of any more examples of the Crowley campaign changing poll locations just before the election (which I'd found out via a text conversation with an Our Revolution volunteer). Said he'd find out and let me know of some in the Bronx he was also aware of. Told him about C99 and he took a note.

This morning after I dropped off my partner at the train station I noticed to my chagrin a young woman passing out Crowley stuff. Said to myself last week that I wasn't going to get swept back up into this, but there I was finding myself riled up with indignation. For Crowley, a young woman in her 20's, maybe 30's? I lit into her. Why are you out here for him, what is it that you are drawn to? Are you a volunteer, or getting paid? Her eyes moved around.

At the next corner same thing. Another clueless flunky standing there with nothing to say but generic "Democratic" bullshit. The Ocasio young lady just smiled and kept her composure. The Crowley machine robots had plenty of really big signs all over the light poles. At the end of that corner I pulled the car over and ripped a few of them down.

Thinking of my socialist friend I went into the polling place. Sure enough I #DemExit-ed. I was "unaffiliated." Alas, with NY's strict, heavy-handed anti-voter rules I couldn't vote.

On my way back from shopping I stopped to ask an Ocasio guy if these two middle-aged/retired union-shirted goons wearing Crowley campaign stickers were breaking the rules of electioneering too close to the polls. One of the goons approaches the car and says something like, "yeah, you wuz the guy who yelled at me before." I said yeah I was. "Why are you out here for this Wall St suckup? Are you getting paid for this?," I demanded. He started to alternately prod and then act like he was joking - shades of Joe Pesci in Good Fellas. After some hostile back and forth I told him they didn't even have a clue that Ocasio was pushing for Medicare For All and that Crowley was a tool of Big Business and Wall St. Union guys, heh. So malleable, their bosses even more so, when there's dough to be pocketed. They don't care, as long as they got theirs. Will we ever evolve out beyond Human Being 101, of being stuck only in self-preservation mode? Ever be able to wash the propaganda from our brains, to realize that we're not competitive capitalists by nature but cooperative communalists by essence?

Don't really know why I was compelled to write this. I don't believe there will be a fair election. I'd loved to see this Neoliberal POS trounced the way he should be, and would be if it were a fair election. I'm even disgusted with myself in a way for allowing myself to even care.

It's just so depressing. As Arendt was saying in his essay, we're living in a parallel world to these somnambulant zombies who can't see what's really going on. We're really on our own, in this little oasis.

It's so easy to run a scam, funnel everybody back into the same corrupt paradigm, and bedazzle with gadgets and gizmos, Social Media dystopia. We're trained to be apathetic and be beaten down into inertia. It's antithetical to being alive.

#3rdPartyNOW
#AmericanDemocracyIsAFraud

Taibbi: "As the DNC Adopts New Rules Seemingly Targeting Future Bernies"