On January 4, 2021, the Minocqua Brewing Company officially launched the Minocqua Brewing Company Super PAC in response to Wisconsin Senator Ron Johnson and our Northern Wisconsin Congressman Tom Tiffany voting “no” to the $900 Billion Coronavirus Relief Package that provided long-overdue financial relief to the bars, restaurants, brewpubs, and breweries in Wisconsin.
I had already closed my brewpub in September after it became torturously apparent that Mitch McConnell was using this SAME relief bill passed in JUNE by the democratic-controlled House as a political football--letting restaurants like mine twist in the wind after being on our backs, through no fault of our own, since March.
But this betrayal, on December 22, right before Christmas, made me so angry that I decided to fight back and start a Super PAC. If the Koch brothers could do it, so could I.
Little did I realize that two days later, on January 6, the mission of the Minocqua Brewing Company Super PAC would become so much more important than a small business taking a stand against jerks willing to let us get screwed.
These same two men that voted to sacrifice the entire service industry of Wisconsin at the altar of their demented ideology had now just assisted an attempted coup to overthrow our government by voting against the results of the presidential election and repeating the Big Lie that incited a mob attack.
Senator Ron Johnson and Congressman Tom Tiffany had just become traitors to our country, and now the Minocqua Brewing Company was going to do our damndest to never let Northern Wisconsin forget it.
This email will be the last one I write for awhile as I take a break from politics for the month of August, but it seems so fitting that my last missive will come after we collectively watched the damning testimony of those Capitol police officers who protected our lawmakers and essentially, our democracy, while being savagely beaten by the Trump Cult.
All the emotions I felt on January 6 came flooding back after watching clips of these officers vividly describe getting bludgeoned by metal objects, fearing for their families while they thought they’d be killed with their own guns, and their disgust for the lawmakers who now claim the violence that happened to them didn’t actually happen.
Blue lives matter? Apparently not if those blue lives don’t fit into a narrative meant to manipulate Americans into choosing authoritarianism over democracy.
So on this day, in honor of the heroes that protected America who are being sabotaged by the ungrateful Trump Cult in Congress, I’m going to re-dedicate the Minocqua Brewing Company to make traitors Ron Johnson and Tom Tiffany pay dearly at the ballot box in 2022, and to do whatever we can to create a more progressive environment in our neck of the woods to never elect guys like them again.
The Minocqua Brewing Company Super PAC has filed our first report to the FEC, and in that report we will announce that we’ve raised over $221,000 in six months and the average contribution has been $32.
Read that again. The average contribution that raised over $221K has been $32. If that doesn’t make you feel good then you might be made out of stone:)
The report will also show that we’ve spent over $130K of your money on billboards, radio ads, phone calls, and podcasts to shine a light on the lies that the Trump Cult are telling voters in Northern Wisconsin, our state, and the rest of the country.
Yeah, it’s a lot of money, but unfortunately our local media in Northern Wisconsin is weak and too many of our neighbors digest a steady stream of Fox News and insane conspiracy theories online. Until Congress passes an updated Fairness Doctrine to prevent nefarious media companies from spreading misinformation, we need money to broadcast the truth in media deserts like Northern Wisconsin. And as I've said time and time again, making Northern Wisconsin more progressive is key to keeping Wisconsin, one of only 9 swing states in the country that affect the outcome of our presidential elections, blue.
But spending money to counteract terrible local media is not enough. We need progressives to organize and RUN FOR OFFICE in the Northern Wisconsin counties that have been neglected by progressives for too long.
Because of your contributions this past month, we sent another big check for $20K to Wisconsin Progress as a down payment to hire a Northern Wisconsin organizer to help recruit and train progressives to run for county boards north of Wausau. This wouldn’t have happened without your donations and without you buying our beer.
We owe them another $20K to complete our commitment to pay a large part of this person’s salary, but this down payment allows them to start the hiring process and start organizing now for county board elections happening next April.
So in this last email of the summer, I’m gonna ask you to dig deep and separate yourselves from a few bucks. I won’t bug you for a month, but I’d like to put another $10K into the coffers for this future Northwoods community organizer.
Please consider donating to this effort. We think it’s important and can help move the needle in this neglected part of Wisconsin.
How do you donate? The easiest way is to simply buy our beer or merchandise. 5% of the profits of everything you buy goes towards our Super PAC, including this effort.
If you want your money to go further, please donate directly to the Super PAC here.
If you hate Super PACs or don’t trust us, please donate directly to Wisconsin Progress here. The link earmarks all money donated to fund this particular position.
Have a great August, and thanks for believing in our shared mission to "Make Wisconsin Great Again, One Beer At A Time."
Kirk Bangstad, Owner of the Minocqua Brewing Company and Super PAC