LEMMINGS (From March 2018)

Editors note: Every once in a while  I think it's valuable and interesting to look back upon past events and post a few pieces from the archives. This one is from the Spring of 2018, and discusses the ham-handed attempt of the Levin campaign to disqualify eleven progressive delegates to the Democratic State Convention and threw in his own wife as a "false flag." No wonder the Congressman is sweating bullets over the census, as his seat is shortlisted to go if California loses a seat. Enjoy. 

"Those who fail to learn from the brutal stompings visited on them in the past are doomed to be brutally stomped in the future." – Hunter S. Thompson

Does anybody remember this commercial? I'll give you a clue. When we sit in front of the television to watch the Super Bowl each year, the television spots are often the most entertaining part of the entire spectacle. The trend started with an ad for a heretofore unknown computer company called Apple. Its title was "Lemmings".  Take a look. 

A lemming is a small rodent usually found in or near the Arctic. They say Lemmings commit mass suicide  Actually, that's a myth. It's their migratory behavior.  Driven by strong biological urges, some species of lemmings migrate in large groups. Many drown if a body of water is too wide, or the journey is a bit too long  The ongoing effort of the California Democratic Party powers to shove a flawed candidate down the collective throats of voters in the 49th District of California is a vivid demonstration of the migratory patterns of a defined subset of mercenary and nasty rodents, and why they collectively do jump off cliffs. 

Posted above is a press release summarizing the latest efforts of the moribund campaign of  Mendacious Mike Levin to somehow squeak through. The latest development is an effort to drive eleven San Diego County delegates (AKA the "Levin Eleven") out of the California State Democratic Party not voting to endorse him at last month's state Democratic Convention.

Their sin allegedly signed a "petition in lieu" of filing fees for an independent candidate for  Lieutenant Governor.  To be fair there is one other person noted in this attempt to pillage the spirit of party bylaws. Her name is Christine Levin. Mrs. Mendacious herself. 

What is interesting about this one is the provenance of the complaint.  It was instigated by this guy's own campaign manager. And Mike Levin himself shopped for people to sign off on a spurious complaint calling out his own wife.  No words for that one. The Obamas went high. Trump goes low. And Mike Levin goes deep into the ground.  Sort of fitting for a burrowing rodent piece I might say. No wonder he apparently has few friends. There is this guy.   

All of this leads us back to the Lemmings. How do we avoid joining them in going off the cliff?  I've had some interesting conversations, that have caused me to think deeply about the events of the past couple of years in our more local politics. Beyond the drama in Washington, we see its fallout in our communities. Two years ago there was a sea change in how politics are done in my backyard. A billionaire developer decided he was going to inflict his will upon the people of Carlsbad and shove a Shopping Center down the collective esophagus.

If a guy like Rick Caruso wants to drop 12 million on a campaign to build a mall nobody really likes, that is his right. But part of the tactics was to import out of town workers who got into the faces of women and older people, simply trying to gather petition signatures and pass out flyers at street fairs. Sadly there were a couple of local residents, who adopted the same tactics. As my father used to say, "By the Christ", they were going to get their way. And they lost. But the poison still remains. They left town. The divisions remain. 

Some believe that the way to combat those forms of intimidation is to do nothing, Some babble banalities like "are kind' that is devoid of sincerity in their lives. Some believe that cribbing the Rotary Four-Way Test, is somehow their unique contribution to political interaction. That is not what defeated Rick Caruso. 

Why Mike Levin's campaign operation troubles so many people, is that it's another iteration of the crappy politics people from places like La-La land and the OC see in elections. And why wouldn't they? It helped to elect Donald Trump. We have accepted a level of intimidation and coercion in our public life, that has become normalized. It's going on in our backyards here in bucolic Carlsbad with Mike Levin. 

It does not matter if the bully is shoving a shopping mall in our lives or running for Congress. It needs to be resisted, stood up to, and a lantern shone on the bully. And I do not care if its Mike Levin or a union's local hatchetman. Each time we see it happen, it needs to be pushed back upon. 

If we want the world to "be kind", we occasionally have to do it ourselves. I make no apologies for speaking truth to a few a couple of years ago, no matter what certain Rotary plagiarists think. For one thing, things changed. They backed off. Politics nowadays is a really crappy game. But better to have to deal with someone operating in the daylight, as opposed to those who pretend to be nice, while being anything but. 

Mike Levin at first blush seems like an affable young man, so much so you would think he has adopted the "be kind" mantra. He's not. And just like the babblers of banality, he does his dirty work in the dark and is a bully too. I have never once regretted standing up for people being oppressed, and neither should any of us. Whether it's the "Levin Eleven" or the others noted above, it's always a good time to "call BS."  

MANY BLESSINGS- NOEL