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  • From the Desk of Al Franken

Shutdown for the Right Reasons

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.

This week, Senate Democrats voted to shut the government down because of health care. Republicans want to keep all the Medicaid cuts and get rid of subsidies on the Affordable Care Act that have been in place since the pandemic, thereby increasing premiums by an average of 114%.

That is what this shutdown is about. Democrats want people to have health care and Republicans don’t give a damn. And polls show that the majority of voters get it — a Navigator poll showed that 48% of Americans would blame Trump and the Republicans for the shutdown, compared to 26% blaming Democrats.

As the cost of living continues to rise under Trump, his approval rating has gone below 40%. Americans want (need) to pay for health care. And yet Trump and the Republicans are making it even more inaccessible.

I’m proud of Democrats for taking a stance on this issue. At the end of the day, Republicans don’t care if people are hurt. Democrats do. 

Please help Midwest Values PAC help take back the House and Senate in the midterms to put a check on Trump and restore some sanity back to Washington.

Thanks,

Al

P.S. Trump wants to use the shutdown to fire federal workers, continuing the work DOGE did to attack our federal workforce. It blows my mind that Republicans refuse to acknowledge how much these public servants do for Americans on a daily basis.

Yet another reason why we need more Democrats back in Washington.

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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.

DONATE HERE

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.

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