In terms of thinking outside the box, I’d like to see the Democratic Party itself do some of these:
(1) Hire an outside group to create videos that respond as swiftly as the Lincoln Project did to whatever outrageous act the Republicans have committed. Example: A response to Ted Cruz’s trip to Cancun. Or what Biden and AOC have done for Texas. The Democrats seem to let others like the Lincoln Project do this heavy lifting for them. They also don’t seem to recognize how important it is to start early to win peoples’ minds as opposed to just campaigning when the next election arises.
(2) Put together a “flying squad” of top notch lawyers to combat gerrymandering and voter suppression immediately wherever it arises, flinging law suits at Republicans even more effectively than Trump ever did. A group in Wisconsin formed a SuperPAC to fight their state’s Republicans from gerrymandering; Minocqua Brewing joined with a local group that actually does the phone calling and organizing. Why Stacey Abrams had to start her group up in Georgia alone instead of having the DNC heavily involved in the beginning is a sign of how ineffective the Democrats can be, I’m sorry to say.
(3) Conduct specific fund raising drives, similar to crowdfunding, to provide the resources for the above two groups as well as a third group whose mission will be to use social media in a planned and consistent way to publicize the good work Democrats do.
(4) Join up with the group, and fund it, that is now working to encourage more young progressive people to run for office. RunForSomething.com is that group, there are others.
(5) Develop a harsh set of standards so that Democrats who are really Republicans can be stopped from holding up needed programs or people being sworn in. Joe Manchin comes to mind.
(6) Work to eliminate the filibuster and the Electoral College in a sustained, well-financed way. People will contribute when the goal is clear. All too often the old-style begging for money without explaining how it will be used is just plain old-fashioned. Take a look at this clear explanation as an example:
Hi Everyone,
This is Kirk Bangstad, owner of the Minocqua Brewing Company and Minocqua Brewing Company Super PAC.
Now I know many of you live outside of Wisconsin, but this email is important for you too, because Wisconsin is a hugely important presidential swing state, has a VERY vulnerable and awful senator up for re-election in 2022 (Ron Johnson) which could tip the scales nationally, and every Republican leader in the state legislature is trying to figure out how to pass new voter suppression legislation in Wisconsin to make sure the GOP maintains its illegal grip on power and skews future election results their way.
We’ve determined that we have a once-in-a-decade shot at stopping Republicans from cheating. Here’s how:
The U.S. census is taken every decade and the results of that census are used to draw congressional, state senate, and state assembly districts.
In 2011, Republicans had complete power in Wisconsin and drew the craziest districts ensuring that they couldn’t lose that power. This is called gerrymandering.
For example, in this last election Biden beat Trump by approximately 20K votes statewide, meaning we are about as split as a state can be, but Republicans won 60 assembly seats and democrats only won 38.
This result couldn’t be possible unless the Republicans cheated when drawing the lines. And they’re poised to do the same thing for the next 10 years THIS YEAR unless we do something.
Now the Minocqua Brewing Company Super PAC has raised over $100K since January 4th because people believe in our mission of “using dark money for good,” and “making politics in the Northwoods as clean as our lakes and streams.” But while we have money, we don’t have an organization.
So we’re teaming up with Citizen Action of Wisconsin, who are REALLY GOOD at political organizing, knocking on doors, and making phone calls. |
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Together with them, we determined that it will cost $30,000 to make 20,000 phone calls in April and May to citizens in the most populated areas of Northern Wisconsin, including Wausau, Rhinelander, and Hudson. We don’t have to convince Democratic state legislators in Stevens Point, Eau Claire, and Superior, so that’s why we’re focused on highly populated areas with Republican legislators in our neck of the woods.
On each of these 20,000 calls, we’re going to ask the no-brainer question to every Wisconsinite—“Do you agree that our district maps should be drawn fairly by a non-partisan commission following the usual lines like counties and school districts?” Referendums have shown that 80% of people, conservative or liberal, will answer “yes” to that question.
Once they answer “yes,” we’re going to tell them that their state legislator will vote against fair maps unless they call them RELENTLESSLY and tell them not to cheat.
This is called Operation #Floodphonesforfairmaps.
So, here’s our ask. We’ve got about $70K in the bank right now after spending some of what we raised on billboards and radio ads calling out Republican liars “Up North,” and are trying to build that number WAY higher for the 2022 elections, but we think raising $30K now to do this work is really important.
So, the easiest way to raise this money is to buy our beer, Fair Maps IPA, or associated merchandise, because 5% of all those profits go to the Fair Maps Coalition of Wisconsin, and Citizens Action is part of that coalition so we can earmark our donation to this project.
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If you want more of your dollars going directly to this cause, you don’t have to buy anything and can donate directly to the Minocqua Brewing Company Super PAC here.
If you HATE Super PACs and don’t trust us, then by all means donate directly to Citizen Action of Wisconsin here: This link is coded so that your donation will go directly to fund this project.
Thanks for reading, and thanks for caring about Wisconsin. We can and will get this state back on track, and we might get huge beer bellies while trying.
Kirk |
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