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The lights are all blinking red.

This year has been the longest three days of putin’s life.

You passed on an opportunity to be offended? What are you even doing here?

I’ve spoken to my cat about this, but it doesn’t seem to do any good.

So many bastards, so little time.

Polls are now a reliable indicator of what corporate Republicans want us to think.

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Oppose, oppose, oppose. do not congratulate. this is not business as usual.

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The arc of history bends toward the same old fuckery.

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You are here: Home / Open Threads / Flash Fundraising: Fighting Back Against Last-Minute Dark Money Ads in Maine

Flash Fundraising: Fighting Back Against Last-Minute Dark Money Ads in Maine

by | 75 Comments

This post is in: 

The Dark Money PAC (American Principles PAC) that went after Terry McAuliffe in the last days of the Virginia governor’s race is doing it again – trying to unseat Janet Mills, a great Democratic governor in Maine.

They are already running slimy ads online, pushing lies against her, and they just just put one million dollars into ads timed to hit during the Patriots game on Sunday.

We saw what the Republican governor did to Maine last time, so let’s see if we can help Jane Mills fight back.  If you love good Democratic governors or just hate the patriots please consider a donation to help one of our best governors.

Janet Mills is related to MomSense, who has confirmed that they need this money RIGHT NOW so they can run on-line ads pushing back against the lies.

MomSense in the comments:

Full disclosure, Janet is my second cousin and besides being a kickass governor in all the measureable ways – massive economic growth, almost 900 million in the rainy day runs, finally meeting the school funding mandates, universal free lunch in public schools, expanding access to abortion services, some of the most ambitious climate change goals and measures (she spoke at the UN as a model of leadership) expansion of broadband, free community college – she is also a fine human being.

She is the person who will sleep on your couch and help you with kids and the house if you have a sick child so you can sleep or go to work or whatever.  She is a music lover and poet.

Honestly can’t say enough good things about her and it makes me so mad that they are trying to turn her into a villain.

Don’t let the bastards win.  Donate.

Please consider posting this to your social media accounts if you have them.

Here’s the direct link to the thermometer if you want to post that and not a link to this Balloon Juice post: https://secure.actblue.com/donate/bj4janetmills

Reader Interactions

75Comments

  5. 5.

    WaterGirl

    I asked MomSense to list some of the great things that Janet Mills has accomplished as governor of Maine.  I will probably try to make that into a list and add the info to the post and  to the ActBlue thermometer.

  6. 6.

    kindness

    Maine confounds me.  Used to be they were quiet northeastern conservatives.  Then  they elected LePage twice and the conservatives ate the monkey brains (h/t Charlie).  So with that in mind I am happy to donate.

  7. 7.

    Baud

    I only know Janet Mills sort of second hand, but she’s the real deal. I have donated to her campaign.  I’m rooting for Maine.  Lovely state.

  10. 10.

    MomSense

    We have expanded MaineCare (Medicaid) to 93,000 people and included abortion in the services that MaineCare covers.  She signed an executive order protecting abortion providers and has been outspoken on protecting abortion and reproductive health access.

  12. 12.

    WaterGirl

    I don’t know that anybody reads the full post up top :-) so I will repeat here my suggestion to share either this whole post or share the thermometer on your social media.

  13. 13.

    Miss Bianca

    OK, I am so totally broke it ain’t even funny – I’ve hardly even been able to contribute to candidates in my state! –  but this shit will not stand. Kicked in $20.00. Kick ass for Maine, Janet Mills!

  16. 16.

    RaflW

    I’m in for $125.

    Yesterday I gave to MN AG Keith Ellison (who shouldn’t be struggling, but I think statewide Dems underestimated how saying ‘soft on crime’ about a Black guy resonates) and one final push for MN-08’s relative longshot Dem (NE Minnesota has trended much more red. Alas, the Tr*mp apparatus wasn’t wrong to have multiple rallies in Duluth/Superior).

    After making those clicks yesterday, I though “That’s probably it for donations this cycle, but who knows.” And here we are. Happy to help.

  17. 17.

    WaterGirl

    @Miss Bianca: I know!  Not only is it MomSense, but we all heard for years about how awful things were under LePage (spit!) and the idea of him getting in for another 4 years, destroying what Maine has now under Janet Mills… it just makes me sick.

    Especially because it’s based on lies and distortions. Fuck.

  19. 19.

    Miss Bianca

    Posted on FB. I have a lot of relatives in Maine, most of them typical WASP right-wingers. This should be interesting!

  20. 20.

    Elizabelle

    Biden really must expand the Supreme Court.  To eviscerate Citizens United and restore voting rights.  No small ball there.

  22. 22.

    WaterGirl

    @RaflW: Yeah, I thought that was it for fundraising for awhile, too, until or unless GA goes into runoffs.

    I really wanted / intended to give us all a free week from fundraising to take a breather.

    But this matters, and it’s MomSense, and we can’t let the bastards win with their lies and deceit.  So yes, here we are.

  24. 24.

    MomSense

    You guys are making me cry.  I shared some messages with them and they are blown away.  This morning her sister told me they felt like they were being swarmed by hornets so knowing people have their backs is a great feeling.

  26. 26.

    Toes In The Sand

    In for $25.

    Visiting Maine is on my bucket list and it will be even more special when it’s blue!

  28. 28.

    Mike in NC

    Read an article about how Republicans are running several so-called moderates in New England (i.e. Fung in Rhode Island) hoping to get control of the US House. Don’t be fooled, because every one of them would help Trump stage another coup attempt.

  31. 31.

    MomSense

    @Baud:

    We do – Golden is in a tough race with Poliquin – former GOP Rep and tree farm tax cheat.  Legislature is just blue – it’s really tight.

  34. 34.

    Mousebumples

    Donated!

    I know conventional wisdom is that late money doesn’t help in elections… But with more digital/social media ads now than ever, should we be recalibrating for 2024/etc.?

    I don’t have those answers but are there campaigns we could trust to give us a straight answer, after the Midterms?

  35. 35.

    WaterGirl

    @Mousebumples: It’s true that digital ads are a game-changer.

    Because of digital ads, we raised money for campaigns far later than we would have even in 2020.

    But in this case, where some slimy dark money PAC is dropping a cool million dollars 3 days before the election to destroy the reputation of a sitting governor…  hell yes, that means more money right now to fight that can make a real difference.

  36. 36.

    Mousebumples

    @WaterGirl: I was more thinking about your post last night about how we’re done for fundraising (*except for this race). We can be done (ish) – plenty to do without $$$ – but would donations between now and Sunday or Monday still make a difference?

    I feel like I read that it takes about 24h to get money out of ActBlue, but I’m curious about how late is too late to have a measurable impact, from the average campaign POV.

  38. 38.

    CaseyL

    In for $25.  I like Maine, and would love to see it go back to what it was before the prion disease took hold.

  42. 42.

    CarolM

    Thank you for posting this, I live in Maine and I love Janet Mills! I just donated, I didn’t realize these attacks were happening and I’m glad to help fight back against them.

  43. 43.

    WaterGirl

    @lahke:  Bummer.  Not every thermometer on ActBlue takes all forms of payment.

    That’s not something I control.  I hope you have another method of payment that works.

  44. 44.

    WaterGirl

    @CarolM: The attacks just started – and the PAC I mentioned above just dropped a cool million for dark money attack ads during the big football game tomorrow.

    Maybe you can spread the word if you have social media, or if you know other folks in Maine who want to fight back against the attacks, too.

    Mills can’t afford a TV ad during a big game, but they want to run digital ads to to fight back against the lies.

  46. 46.

    lahke

    @WaterGirl:  yes, thanks, donated $50.  It’s just that I have cash in Venmo that was essentially found money, so it would have been nice to use it here.

  47. 47.

    A woman from anywhere (formerly Mohagan)

    Donated $500 – go Janet and MomSense!  These last few days of the campaigns are always so awful I’m glad to help fight back.

  57. 57.

    MomSense

    She’s just about to speak in Farmington and her sister told her about your donations and supportive comments and she is so grateful!

  58. 58.

    WaterGirl

    @Juju: They need to put up a ton of digital ads to help combat the zillion dollar ad that’s going to run during the football game on Sunday.  So everything helps!

    Come on, Janet!

  60. 60.

    Wolvesvalley

    Dammit, I’m way over what I had planned for political donations, but here’s $50 for Janet Mills. I hope it helps her counter all the lies.

  61. 61.

    WaterGirl

    Big thanks to everyone who is stepping up to fight these dark money ads for a good Democratic governor like Janet Mills.  It gives her ad money to help fight the lies, and it all has to be reassuring to see all these donations coming in, big or small.

    Balloon Juice peeps rock.

  62. 62.

    Reboot

    Added $25, partially in memory of a mayor’s race in St Augustine in which residents were inundated with flyers and postcards claiming ridiculous untruths about our candidate. Everyone was flabbergasted; this had never happened before. The local newspaper vowed to track down the source, but they were never able to find out. Our candidate won anyway. So, go, Janet Mills!

  63. 63.

    The Fat Kate Middleton

    @MomSense: My sister-who teaches at the University in Farmington-called me as I was reading here. She had just come from a rally for Mills, and from canvassing for her. She was delighted to hear what you’re all doing for Miils. Agrees that she’s a first rate governor and fine human being. You all rock!!

  66. 66.

    Emily B.

    Donated! I have strong ties to Maine, and the state deserves far better than LePage (and also Collins). I can’t canvass this weekend because of an untimely case of Covid (grrr), so I appreciate having this opportunity to contribute now.

    Also hoping that Mills has locked up a lot of votes already during early voting in Maine.

  67. 67.

    KayInMD (formerly Kay (not the front-pager))

    Donated $25, tried to share on Twitter, & got a message that Twitter was blocked. I’ve always been able to share donations on Twitter before. Just another “improvement” from Musk I guess.

  68. 68.

    mayim

    So happy to see the donations! I don’t have a TV so I didn’t know about the ads, although I’m not surprised.

    As a state employee in a position that requires me to be neutral during work hours, I can say it’s often tough. The anger in rural Maine is real and in many cases reasonable. For example, there are still large chunks of the state where high speed Internet access is either unavailable or way too expensive for people, and cell signalis minimal or nonexistent. But people are still expected to use the Internet to interact with their banks, jobs, and many other places.

    Much of the immediate/current anger is from how the pandemic was handled. Mills did an excellent job in a tough situation, but too many people think she took away freedoms.

    Maine is really a couple different states: the two southernmost counties, some areas on the coast, and the occasional western town are blue and trending urban/diverse. The rest of the state is essentially the northern end of Appalachia. Many places are depressing. And I say that as someone who loves the state and moved back here from a major city despite the much lower pay [although my bottom line is actually a bit healthier, given much lower rents and car insurance costs]. Take a Google street view tour of places like Mexico or Livermore Falls ~ you’ll see what I mean :-(

    I put in a bit, as I much prefer Mills to be my ultimate boss ;-)

  69. 69.

    Another Scott

    @mayim: Thanks for the report.  We spent part of a vacation at Acadia on the way to Nova Scotia, the Bay of Fundy, etc.  Beautiful country.

    Donated++

    Fingers crossed!

    Cheers,
    Scott.

  71. 71.

    Skepticat

    @WaterGirl: … list some of the great things that Janet Mills has accomplished as governor of Maine …

    There aren’t enough pixels. She’s absolutely terrific, and although this Mainah has been giving (more than I really can afford) to her campaign, Golden’s, and to others around the country, I’ve just tossed in a little more. In my fruitless hunt for a new home, I’ve been driving all around most of southern Maine, and I’m distressed by all the wall-to-wall LeRage signs I see. At least they alert me to which towns to avoid, but it’s discouraging, though I try to tell myself it’s just the Rethuglican way of yelling. I’ve already voted, but I fear next week is going to be rough. Paws crossed, ballot checked, and vodka purchased. Go blue.

  73. 73.

    CCL

    Late to the party and couldn’t stand seeing it still under $8000.  Chipped in $25.   Trying to not even think about the credit card balance this month.

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