So! I posted this image in Facebook, and one person saw it and said, “But, we have to show up!” I responded by saying, “How do you mean, show up? Show up where?” Then, I went on to clarify further what I meant. The image he was responding to is below…

So, here is my reply (which clarified things and my commenter and I ended up on the exact same page).

Dear ____________,
I hosted Debate parties in 2015 and 2016. We had about 40 people who would show up for each debate. We kept the television on mute during all of the media commentary beforehand, where they try to get inside your head, and as soon as the debate was over we instantly muted it again. You know, as the Talking Heads dive in and start telling us all what we should think about what we just watched (no time to absorb, think, consider, or discuss).

In 2015/2016, we were trying to get people to know who Bernie Sanders was, and to understand what he stood for. Now it is a whole new ballgame. As Bernie Sanders recently mentioned himself, the debates are more about mainstream media propaganda. Nothing is ever debated accurately in two minutes. Nada.

Because I thoroughly understand what Bernie is standing for, I have actually not spent any time watching the debates this time around. I have also chosen to follow Tulsi’s work, through non-debate venues, partly because I remember well what she did in 2015 and 2016, and partly because I find the debates to be “so much propaganda.”

And now….the private club (called the Democratic Party) is allowing a billionaire to buy his way onto the debate stage that other candidates are barred from participating in, even though they have worked for many months to meet the previous rules?

If you don’t know what Bernie Sanders stands for or if you want to introduce some friends to Bernie Sanders and his platform and the community of Americans that are rising up with him, I respectfully suggest that these shallow “debates” will not be the best way to do that. There are far better videos of Bernie doing his thing!

But if you do watch any more debates, I recommend keeping the remote handy, so you can press the mute button every time Bloomberg speaks. We aren’t running a high school election. This isn’t a social media popularity contest. We are literally in the driver’s seat of a runaway locomotive on a direct track to DOOM and it is up to US to get ‘er off the rails and headed in a totally different direction!

This is serious shit.

Having a place on the debate stage? That is a tremendous power that has been handed to him! Why should Bloomberg be able to share his personal opinions with however many millions of Americans are going to watch that debate?

What makes his opinion of any value to any of us?
What makes his opinion better than mine?

He has not met the requirements for candidates to be allowed to debate. What’s the purpose of those rules? The whole point is to get on the stage because a lot of people want you there. Bloomberg just wants himself there, the same way that Trump wanted himself there, and as a billionaire with friends in “high places,” is it any surprise that the Oligarchical-Allied Democratic Party (private club) is happy to oblige?

What WE have to keep firmly in mind, is that his opinion is of no greater value than the man who pumps my septic tank every three years. Bloomberg is being given a HUGE podium to stand upon, and a GIANT bullhorn…because the reining aristocracy of America is desperate to stop Bernie Sanders (the people). So, why not let a fellow oligarch hop on the stage and BLAB?

Blah blah blah blah blah. That is the equivalent value of what Bloomberg will say. So, are WE going to enhance his illegitimate power by putting our ears in front of the screen and letting him communicate to us? He is there to do one thing – undermine Bernie Sanders. How does this serve us or our mission?

So, yes. I am going to show up! But, I am going to “show up” by inviting people to come and make phone calls during the debate, or we can make signs, or we can plan to have a booth at the local summer festival, or we can figure out how to raise money to send young people to South Carolina or New Hampshire to work for Bernie’s campaign. Or, or, or…and, if we still want the Debate on in the background? Just make sure you have a volunteer, ready to press the MUTE button Every! Single! Time! Bloomberg opens his mouth.

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