From the desk of

Al Franken

"Humor and seriousness are not in opposition to each other."

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In case you missed it, last week Steve Bannon — yes, that Steve Bannon — sat down with The Economist and said some deeply disturbing things, because ya know, he’s Steve Bannon.
We’re now on day 21 of a Republican-induced government shutdown — and let me tell you, it’s a doozy.
You may have read or heard about the Young Republican (18-40 year olds) group chat where they referred to Black people as “monkeys” and “watermelon people” and joked about the Holocaust, professing their admiration for Hitler.
1808: Charles Cotesworth Pinckney’s campaign sends history’s first fundraising email, requesting 75 cents to “help defeat the scourge of the Embargo Act of 1807.” Note: 75 cents would be around $14 in today’s dollars.
In March, Minority Leader Schumer led his caucus to keep the federal government open. Four months later Republicans passed their Big, Beautiful Bill that gave enormous tax cuts to those at the very top while cutting Medicaid by nearly a trillion dollars.

Midwest Values PAC supports candidates & causes that share our values.

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Somehow, it’s been 20 years since I started Midwest Values PAC to help Democrats win elections — from progressive organizations to state legislatures to Congress to the White House — who share the values I grew up with in St. Louis Park, Minnesota.

Since 2006, Midwest Values PAC has invested more than $4 million in 341 candidates and organizations — and counting. 

Of course, none of this happens without you (or supporters like you) who care enough to pitch in.

As we mark our 20th anniversary, the work is more urgent than ever. This year, we have a big job: flip the House, take the Senate, and win up and down the ballot at the state and local level.

To mark our 20th year, we’ve set an ambitious goal: 26,000 contributions by Election Day 2026.

Thanks for being part of this fight, and for sticking with us for 20 years (or for just joining — welcome!).

Al

P.S. Over the years, okay, decades, we’ve helped Democrats win tough races all across the country by investing early, intelligently, and strategically. That’s how you flip seats. That’s how you protect democracy. And that’s how you stop the worst impulses of a president who never should have been president in the first place.