HANCOCK, Mass. — A Polish proverb reads, "not my monkeys, not my circus" to essentially mean, it's not my problem.

 

For years that's how Hancock resident Barry Grauman has felt about politics. He's been an active voter, intent to make it to the polls every time. But, he's never liked his choices. He says he was voting out of hate, voting against a candidate and not for one he likes. He's sick of that, though, and he is trying to make it his circus.

 

Grauman has launched a mock presidential campaign. It is one of humor where his stance on gun control is "I feel that whenever I am around guns, I prefer they are under control."

 

But at the same time, it is a serious protest vote. Grauman wants people to stop voting for candidates they don't like because they fear the ones in the other party is worse. He wants people to change their way of thinking and instead of settling, send a message that the two-party system isn't working for the people.

 

"Don't vote out of hate. Vote for someone you like. You don't need to hold your nose. Don't hold your nose and vote for Clinton. Don't hold your nose and vote for Trump if you don't like either one of them. If you do like one of them, knock yourself out, exercise your right to vote. If you like Clinton, I don't know why you would, go ahead and vote for her. If you like Trump, I don't know why you would, go ahead and vote for him," Grauman said. 

 

"But if you don't like either, vote for somebody else. Find somebody you like and vote for them. Just that one thing will disarm the political parties, that tool of hate that they wield every election cycle. The tool where people unfriend their friends in social networks, where social networks become unsocial."

 

He's tired of perpetuating a two-party system but by not going to the polls, then a voter's voice isn't being heard. Whereas a write-in vote for somebody else is recorded, and eventually should enough protest votes be made, the soil will be seeded to expand into a multiparty system. He says the message is continually heard that voting for a third-party is a "wasted vote" or essentially helping one of the two main candidates. But, it's not in Grauman's eyes. 

 

"We've got to stop voting for Democrats and Republicans. But you have to vote. If you don't vote at all that doesn't get anybody's attention. When you stand up and vote for somebody besides them, then you are making a statement. The nonvoter's voice is not being heard but the person who votes and says I am voting for somebody other than the Democrats and the Republicans, their voice is recorded," Grauman said. 

 

So who will Grauman write-in when he goes to the polls in November? 

 

"I believe people should vote because we have a civic duty. I'm going to vote whether I like the candidates or not, I am going to vote. Just this time I am going to vote for somebody I like. I'm going to vote for me," Grauman said.

 

It started early in the year when he tuned into a Republican debate during the primary. With more than a dozen candidates, there had to be one he'd like. Nope.

 

He tuned into a Democratic debate. He already knew he didn't like Hillary Clinton because of her prior political work. But, out of the other three, there had to be somebody he liked, right? Nope.

 

"Out of all of them oddly enough, Bernie [Sanders] and [Ben] Carson were my two favorites," Grauman said. "In my world in how to choose a president, they were actually pretty close. To me, it is about integrity. The big mistake me make is we choose presidents like it is a beauty contest."

 

He posted on Facebook that he wasn't going to vote for any of them and that he instead was going to run. He filed with the Federal Elections Commission — his name in the list of more than 600 ranging from Donald Trump and Hilary Clinton to Mickey Mouse — and started a Facebook group. He crafted a slogan, "making it my circus because I'm sick of these monkeys."

 

"Immediately people I knew started making signs and putting them in their front yards. I thought that was hysterical. Then people started to make memes with my name in it and often times it was comical," Grauman said. 

 

Signs started popping up around town. The Facebook group grew to peak at more than 1,000 people sharing memes and other political jokes. It's satire. But, at the same time it delves into some serious discussion.

 

"It is half humor and half serious. There is some serious political discussion on there but there is also comedy," Grauman said.

 

He sought out a printing company and made more lawn signs and bumper stickers.

 

"If you want to confuse your neighbors or upset your relatives who think you should be voting for the family's candidate whether it be Democrat or Republican, you can put that on your car and have a good time," Grauman said.

 

He's now selling his signs and stickers for $5, a figure just to offset the cost because he certainly won't accept donations. Because he says if you accept a donation, then you owe the person who gave you money something.

 

"If by some miracle I end up in the black, which I won't because I've got quite a large box of these sitting at home, if I end up with any extra I would roll it over to the next campaign. And If I don't run in four years, I'll donate it to a charity," Grauman said.

 

His problem with Hilary Clinton is a history of scandals. He remembers under Bill Clinton the travel office was eliminated and employees replaced. That went to the court and the office had to be restored. From then on, the Clintons were involved in a number of scandalous behavior, he said. His problem with Donald Trump is he can't take him seriously. His problem with the whole system is he believes presidents shouldn't be so partisan and instead should serve in a role to execute the laws, not write them. He says presidents now act like "kings" instead of the chief executive officer of the country.

 

"The president should have nothing to do with his personal opinion. He presides over the executive branch, he is the chief executive. His job is to execute the laws that are on the books. It is not his job to write the laws so it doesn't matter if the president is pro-life or not. It makes no difference if he is doing his job. I say he, but it is he or she because I do think we are going to have a female president here. I think the math says Clinton is going to win this," Grauman said. 

 

"In this fantasy world where I get elected president, which is not going to happen, it doesn't matter what I believe. A president like me would just execute the laws of the land whether I agree with them or not."

 

His second issue is with money in government. He says the big corporations have taken over the system so much that they can buy favors from the politicians. 

 

"The people with all the money who can hire politicians to work on their behalf, those are the businesses that succeed. The little businesses that can't afford to pay for the power of government, well they are just going to have to make it on their own," Grauman said. 

 

After the primaries, he said a series of character assassinations, which he calls "quailing" after vice presidential candidate Dan Quayle, begins to roll out. All of the candidates turn into monsters, he said, even when that's not the case. The voters end up choosing a candidate out of fear of the other one and the concept of voting a third-party is turned into helping one candidate or the other. 

 

He says in Washington, D.C., it doesn't matter which party the politicians are apart of — it's all political fodder. He cited numerous politicians over the years that switch parties, and others, including the two major party nominees who have flip flopped on positions. 

 

"We take it serious but they don't. The politicians don't. It is political fodder. They look at the polls and see what is going to strengthen them the most and that is the position they are going to take," Grauman said. "Every position is up for sale and they don't really believe anything."

 

Finally, he says in Massachusetts, and the majority of the states, votes in the general election doesn't matter. He believes the electoral college should be eliminated.

 

"We live in Massachusetts, our election has already been decided. We have 11 electoral college votes and they are all going to go to Hilary Clinton. It doesn't make any difference how I vote, it isn't going to change that," Grauman said. "You'll get people who will say 'well if everybody thought like that then she wouldn't win.' Well, then you don't understand statistics and you should go take a course. Based on the sample, Massachusetts is going to go for Clinton and no amount of independent thinking is going to change it. People are going to go pull the lever and pull the lever like they've been doing for decades."

 

When he goes into the voting booth in November there isn't a spot for "none of the above." But there is a spot where he can write his own name — and hopefully the town clerk can read his handwriting.