Ok folks,
I arrived back in Wisconsin last night just in time to watch the Packers lose their first playoff game. Sheesh!
But thanks to you, everyone in the Wausau media market, a region that the state Democratic party has largely written off as a lost cause, was able to watch our anti-gerrymandering commercial during that playoff game. We hit our fundraising goal of $50K in the last two weeks, with 1,074 donations and an average donation of $47.10, and we were able to buy the ad, which amazingly cost north of $50K (don’t get me started on how Fox charges WAY MORE for ads than the other networks).
Read that again, over 1000 of you donated a very small amount of money to do a VERY BIG THING. This is how we get our democracy back, by STANDING TOGETHER.
Think about this. Most every Wisconsinite was watching that game--Republican, Democrat, and everything in between--and no one watching a football game wants to see a team win because they cheated, even if it’s their own team!
With your help, we played an ad that reminded everyone watching a sports competition, defined by fair play, that our Republican majority legislature cheated them out of a functioning democracy by rigging our voting districts. We think that as expensive as this ad was, that message, especially to normal folks who don’t pay attention to politics and still vote Republican, was priceless.
So thanks! As they say in the Dairy State, we “Got ‘er Done.”
And special thanks to those who have donated from states that aren’t Wisconsin. We’ve had a LOT of donations from people in blue states like California, Washington, Illinois, and New York that realize how important Wisconsin is to the fabric of American democracy. If Wisconsin falls to authoritarianism, and we’re one of only 9 or so states that decides presidential elections, that’s really bad for ALL of America.
Now, we need to take this small win and build off of it. Here’s what the Super PAC is gonna focus on over the next few months.
- If the Republican-dominated Wisconsin Supreme Court allows the gerrymandered maps to stand, we’re going to make sure everyone in Northern Wisconsin knows they abdicated their duty to serve the Wisconsin constitution, and put their party ahead of an oath they took on the bible.
- Until we hear something from him that says that Merrick Garland is handling it, we’re going to pressure our Democratic Attorney General Josh Kaul to prosecute the fraudulent Republican electors that illegally forwarded Trump’s name as the winner of the presidential election. It has been a year and nothing has been done to these people who obviously broke laws and arguably committed treason. THEY HAVE TO BE HELD ACCOUNTABLE, and it is endlessly frustrating that nobody with the power to do anything has leaned in. Please call, write, and email Josh Kaul here to help put the pressure on.
- After the heart-breaking decisions by the U.S. Supreme Court to abdicate their responsibility to protect women’s reproductive rights in Mississippi and Texas, it is apparent that legislation needs to be passed in Wisconsin to update anti-abortion laws from the 1800s if Roe v. Wade is overturned. We’ve got a really cool idea to help move the needle on public opinion here that we’ll introduce in a few weeks.
So guys, the Packers lost, and democracy in Wisconsin and America is on the ropes, but there’s hope. Goddammit, there’s still hope, and we’re not gonna stop fighting.
Keep fighting with us.
Kirk Bangstad,
Owner, Minocqua Brewing Company
Founder, Minocqua Brewing Company Super PAC