Up North Podcast

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Hi folks,

Kirk Bangstad here from the Minocqua Brewing Company.

In last night’s Up North Podcast—Patti, Ben, and I talk about the Wisconsin’s Supreme Court Race, Eric Swalwell’s fall from grace, Victor Orban’s defeat in Hungary, and the upcoming May Day Strong event.

If you have an hour to spare, I recommend listening to the entire podcast. If you only have a few minutes, here are a few snippets from the show:

First off, this chart above shows a massive progressive shift in last week’s Supreme Court election from Trump’s victory in 2024. In fact, if you measure the votes by Wisconsin’s congressional Districts, progressive Judge Chris Taylor’s victory looks even more lopsided:

WI-01: 🔵+15 (Trump + 4.5)

WI-02: 🔵+59 (Harris +40.0)

WI-03: 🔵+21 (Trump +7.4)

WI-04: 🔵+62 (Harris +51.4)

WI-05: 🔴+9 (Trump +22.1)

WI-06:🔵+4 (Trump +16.4)

WI-07: 🔵+3 (Trump +22.5)

WI-08: 🔵+7 (Trump +16.2)

Here’s a clip from the show where we talk about Ozaukee County, a suburban area near Milwaukee that has traditionally voted red for decades. They went blue last week

While all of this is outstanding news, we must take it all with a grain of salt. Studies have shown that people who vote in the Spring elections tend to be more educated, which demographically means that the spring electorate is naturally more progressive. To maintain these massive progressive gains throughout Wisconsin next November will take a lot of effort.

The good news got better last week with Victor Orban’s defeat in Hungary. Orban rigged Hungary’s entire government and constitution to ensure electoral victories for himself and his party, and somehow he was still defeated. This gave me a strong shot of hope that we can do the same thing to Trump this coming November, even though we know he’ll try to steal our elections.

In the days since the election in Hungary, we’ve discovered that Orban was funneling money to CPAC, the largest annual conference for the Republican Party. Orban has pledged fealty to Vladimir Putin, and the the fact he funneled money to CPAC confirms many of our fears that Russian propaganda permeates throughout the MAGA movement. Here’s a clip about that:

Luckily, it appears that the wool is starting to fall from the eyes of the MAGA voter, and they’re realizing that voting for racism and bigotry won’t make their lives any better. What MUST happen to win these people over is for progressive leaders, once elected, to do big things—not just half measures—to prove we can move just as quickly in the right direction as Trump moved us backwards.

Left wing populism means focusing on education, universal healthcare, and good paying jobs. That combination, if executed boldly, will win over more Americans than bigotry and racism any day of the week.

Thanks for reading and watching, and thanks for sticking with the Minocqua Brewing Company.

For the first time in a long time, I’m hopeful again. I hope you are too.

Kirk Bangstad

Owner, Minocqua Brewing Company/ Minocqua Marketplace Publisher, Minocqua Brewing Company Times Founder, Minocqua Brewing Company Super PAC

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