Hi Folks,
These are heady times in America and Wisconsin. Here are my thoughts about what has happened over the last few days:
Biden gave two rousing speeches in two days: the first at a press conference with the White house press corps and the second at a rally with supporters in Detroit.
After hearing him speak in great detail about his foreign and domestic policy goals at the press conference, I felt assured that Biden was absolutely capable of serving for another four years and didn’t worry about his occasional verbal mistakes.
After hearing the crowds chant “Don’t You Quit” and “We Got Your Back” at the Detroit rally, I was moved to tears, but also extremely angry.
Our corporate media has so relentlessly called for Biden to step aside that they’ve “BECOME THE STORY,” which is what you learn NOT TO DO in journalism school. I’m absolutely convinced that had they not pushed the narrative that Biden was too old to run, and then pounced when he had some senior moments at the debate, we’d be seeing Biden polling a LOT better than we are now.
To me, the REAL story unfolding here is that our corporate media has become completely disconnected from the average swing state voter—like me in Wisconsin—who doesn’t really care how old Biden is, but instead cares only about one thing: HE IS NOT TRUMP.
Two years ago, for example, the majority of swing state voters in Wisconsin elected an old white male as their governor who focused on fixing potholes instead of fighting culture wars. Tony Evers isn't blessed with a ton of charisma, but he isn't eminently corrupt like our previous governor and Trump wannabe--Scott Walker. His blandness enables us to relax a bit. At the very least, we know we won’t be abused under his watch.
Joe Biden is a LOT LIKE Tony Evers, and that's good enough for us in Wisconsin--where we get pummeled by Republicans year round with political negativity, corruption, and trickery.
And like Tony Evers, I was similarly nonchalant about Biden. However, after seeing him being brutally attacked day in and day out by the media, I've dug in my heels. I’m WAY more supportive of Biden now than I’ve ever been before.
I was so disgusted by the media last Friday that I canceled my New York Times subscription and told Kurt Streeter, a New York Times reporter who was working on a story about my company’s activism, that I wasn’t interested in talking to him until the NYT found its way back to honest journalism.
Speaking of brutal attacks, the irony of Trump being shot yesterday—the man who has incited more political violence than any other American in my lifetime—is not lost on me.
It is also not lost on me that as of writing this article, reports suggest that the shooter was a 20-year-old registered Republican white male—which fits the stereotype to a “T.”
Martin Luther King said: “Through violence you may murder the liar, but cannot murder the lie, nor establish the truth. Through violence you may murder the hater, but you do not murder hate. In fact, violence merely increases hate.”
Political violence, from either side, won’t rid ourselves of the MAGA movement. The only thing that will quiet the insanity of MAGA is to re-embrace morality, re-embrace truth, and enact sound public policy that provides those who feel victimized and scared—the same folks who find comfort in Trump’s cult of victimhood—a path back to the middle class.
There's another way to look at this too. People, when pressed too hard or backed too far into a corner, can be driven to do desperate things.
Patrick Henry famously said, after the American colonies lost all hope of reconciliation with their despotic British King,
“Is life so dear, or peace so sweet, as to be purchased at the price of chains and slavery? Forbid it, Almighty God! I know not what course others may take; but as for me, give me liberty or give me death!”
At that point in American history, things were so bad that our forefathers believed violence was the only answer.
Political violence springs from desperation, and desperation springs from a weakened Democracy where people start losing hope. Here are a few reasons why progressives are losing hope:
- Donald Trump has never been held accountable for the violence he incited on January 6.
- Our illegitimate SCOTUS, by constantly shredding judicial precedent, has rolled back women’s rights and built the scaffolding for American Fascism.
- Government paralysis has increased inequality and has does nothing to stem gun violence.
- Corporate media no longer reports the news without inserting its own narrative—choosing instead to cash in on a 24-hour news cycle that stokes conflict and division.
In this environment, political violence is entirely predictable.
People are losing hope in America’s institutions and are becoming desperate—but the ones most prone to violence aren’t us progressives. No, they are the young, right-wing, 20-year-old white males being told that the only way out of victimhood is martyrdom.
Buy Our New "Ridin' With Biden" T-Shirt Here
So what do we do about it? We vote for Biden in Wisconsin like our Union depends on it.
Alexander Hamilton wrote this in Federalist in Paper #9: “A firm union will be of utmost moment to the peace and liberty of the states, as a barrier against domestic faction and insurrection.”
The MAGA crowd may use this violence against Trump as an excuse to use more violence against our country, but they are merely a domestic faction, not the majority.
Sanity currently rules, Biden is still our president, and Democrats control the Senate. We must coalesce around Biden and peacefully work to bury Trump on November 5th, regardless of the political violence from MAGA that will probably occur between now and then.
Once we shore up American Democracy and strengthen our Union by re-electing Biden, we can peacefully quell the violence incited by Trump that is too-often carried out by disaffected, “victimized,” young white males.
To that end, I can report that I’ve partnered with a Milwaukee-based event promoter to finalize the dates and venues for our 12-city rural Wisconsin Get Out The Vote tour called “Antifa Octoberfist.” And no, this is not a call for more political violence but a provocative name to stand firmly against Fascism this coming November.
This tour, along with us putting up NOPE billboards in every city we visit, will be the Minocqua Brewing Company Super PAC's main focus until the election.
I’m not going to ask you for money to help us pull this off yet because I don’t know how much it’s gonna cost....BUT I'm hoping you'll open your wallets next week when I have more details.
This week, consider buying a Ridin’ with Biden’ t-shirt, a NOPE yard-sign, or a "Choose Reason Over Treason" Flag. Become a walking billboard or make your house a billboard to give others confidence that they're not alone--especially in rural Wisconsin where it seems like we’re outnumbered.
Average Americans in swing states will save America or destroy it. The good thing is that unlike corporate media, we "average Americans" still have souls and our lives aren't ruled entirely by profit margins. We still care about morality and decency, and THAT is what will ultimately save us. Biden WILL NOT LOSE if we focus on the innate goodness within the human spirit, and the REAL American ideals of Democracy, liberty, justice, and equality of opportunity.
Thanks for reading, and thanks for sticking with the Minocqua Brewing Company. Together, we will end political violence in America by strengthening our Union, one beer at a time.
Kirk Bangstad
Owner, Minocqua Brewing Company
Founder, Minocqua Brewing Company Super PAC.