Want to Save Democracy?  Build a Progressive Bench in Northern Wisconsin

Want to Save Democracy? Build a Progressive Bench in Northern Wisconsin

So we at the Minocqua Brewing Company Super PAC have a loving/irritable relationship with the Democratic Party.

Of course in a two-party system where a quarter of registered Republicans think that our country is run by Satan-worshipping pedophiles, we obviously are 100% in support of the Democratic Party and the sanity it represents.

But what irritates us time and again is how the Party, especially in Wisconsin, seems to instinctively play defense instead of offense and, seemingly too often, “brings knives to gun fights.”

A case in point is that given limited resources, the Democratic Party of Wisconsin (DPW) tends to invest in places where they worry that incumbents might lose in future elections instead of playing offense and investing in “deep red” areas of Wisconsin to help “build the bench” of progressive local officeholders that over time will earn the trust of their communities and ultimately win elections to state office.

This is unfortunately the case in Northern Wisconsin, where the county Democratic parties are harnessed by campaigns during major presidential or gubernatorial elections, but are too often left to fend for themselves when names like “Biden” and “Evers” aren’t on the ballot.

And what happens? The county parties remain weak, progressives keep losing, and as a result our water gets polluted, our schools get defunded, and the poor get screwed.

Of course we can't walk in the shoes of those running the DPW, and aren't at the table when strategic decisions are made, but that's what we've seen happen up here for years.

For better or for worse, the Minocqua Brewing Company doesn’t know how to play defense and could care less about the low, gerrymandered odds of toppling traitors like Tom Tiffany, Ron Johnson, or the multitude of rubber-stamping, know-nothing automatons that comprise the Republican Majority of our state legislature, because we know we’re on the right side of history and that if we can make our area even a “little bit” more progressive, we can help Wisconsin stop electing traitors to our U.S. Senate and would-be dictators to the White House.

And in the process, we might help our counties become more progressive and at least make LOCAL government work for the neediest among us.

With your help, we’ve already spent about $100K to put up billboards and campaign hard against gerrymandering Up North, and hope you are as proud of that work as we are.

But today we’re going to launch a new effort—to raise money to hire a rural organizer to recruit and train community members to run for board seats in counties north of Wausau Wisconsin.

We’re convinced that this work is vital to our area, and as we’ve explained the interconnectedness before, vital to our country.

It just so happens that a group called Wisconsin Progress specializes in this work, and we’re partnering with them for this effort. We hope to raise the money from you and through our own beer/merch sales, and they, in communication with local progressives, will hire the organizer.

We’ve set our goal to raise $40K to cover a large portion of the base salary of an organizer. When we hit the $20K mark, Wisconsin Progress will start the hiring process.

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.

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

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