Make Liberty Win's independent expenditures bring nastygram money to the Gopher State

Alexandria VA based PAC, Make Liberty Win, is spending 1000s on independent expenditures in 6 #mnleg races. Force behind awful postcards against @BradTabke, @reprickhansen & 4 other DFLers. @bspinmn will have more soon. #mnhouse #mnsenate pic.twitter.com/kEUEeYEDbr

— Sally Jo Sorensen (@sallyjos) November 2, 2022

What is the Make Liberty Win PAC and why is it sending bitter postcards in six Minnesota house and senate districts? Why is an out-of-state PAC spending money for the six candidates in the image above? And against DFLers?

On November 1, Shakopee area Democratic House candidate sent a tweet, answered by state representative Rick Hansen in the Twitter exchange below:

Voters in South St Paul, Newport, St Paul Park, Inver Grove Heights and Cottage Grove are receiving a carbon copy of this negative mailing except with my face.

— Rep. Rick Hansen (@reprickhansen) November 1, 2022\

In a comment in the Morning Reformer email newsletter, Minnesota Reformer editor J. Patrick Coolican observed:

A sucker born every minute

A mailer is going out in some suburban districts against former Rep. Brad Tabke and Rep. Rick Hansen. It reads in big type: “I had fantasies of unloading a revolver into the head of any white person.” 

Obviously neither of them said that. It’s some CRT nonsense. 

Some things used to be beyond the pale. No longer.

The disclaimer on the mail pieces credits the cards to Make Liberty Win, which is registered with the Minnesota Campaign Finance and Public Disclosure Board. The political action committee--the second iteration of "Make Liberty Win" at the same address in Alexandria VA to be registered with the board is based at 441 North Lee Street, Suite 100, Alexandria VA 22314, along with its frequent vendor, PAC Management Services, LLC.

The national Make Liberty Win's About Us statement reads:

Make Liberty Win is dedicated to deploying activists to state legislative races across the nation. Our activists, stakeholders, and candidates are fighting to advance the cause of liberty and defend our only special interest: the U.S. Constitution.

Make Liberty Win specializes in mobilizing voters to engage in primary and general elections through direct voter contact. Door knocking, phone calls, and texting are the best way to establish an authentic connection in today’s political environment. Our activists cut through the noise of the ‘he said, she said.’

Make Liberty Win is uniquely positioned to out work any opponent with the most dedicated ground troops in the country. The candidates we support must show the same level of commitment and passion for the principles of limited government.

This is the organization funding the state Make Liberty Win committee, according to CFB records, though in Minnesota, it does seem to have added toxic negative independent expenditure postcards to its mission. Because of the origin of the money, none of the activity by Make Liberty Win can be coordinated with a candidate's committee under Minnesota law.

From the 2022 Pre-General Report:

Where did the money in Minnesota come from?

Donor: Make Liberty Win
441 North Lee Street Suite 100 Alexandria, VA 22314
07/13/22 In Kind: Gas Cards for Staff  $2,000.00
07/13/22 $70,000.00
09/16/22 $89,500.00
Total 159,500.00 (cash) plus 2,000.00 (in kind) 161,500.00

How has that been spent as independent expenditures?

Here's the detailed spending reported to the Minnesota Campaign Finance and Public Disclosure Board in the most recent filing. Note that some expenses are FOR Republican candidates, while the spending AGAINST a candidate targets a Democratic-Farmer-Labor candidate:

Minnesota Make Liberty Win PAC 2022 independent expenditures uploaded by Sally Jo Sorensen on Scribd

Here's the spending of $109,669.23 in a simple format, from the CFB's Search independent expenditures (spender) database:

Make Liberty Win	Parins, Charles House Committee	For	2022	7/14/2022	$11,961.40	No	Other Services: Field Distribution of Literature	PAC Management Services LLC
Make Liberty Win	Wesenberg, Nathanial L Senate Committee	For	2022	7/14/2022	$11,961.40	No	Other Services: Field Distribution of Literature	PAC Management Services LLC
Make Liberty Win	Dippel, Tom Senate Committee	For	2022	7/14/2022	$12,030.58	No	Other Services: Direct Mail	PAC Management Services LLC
Make Liberty Win	Mortensen, Erik House Committee	For	2022	7/14/2022	$33,295.86	No	Other Services: Field Distribution of Literature	PAC Management Services LLC
Make Liberty Win	Bishofsky, Mark House Committee	For	2022	9/19/2022	$1,006.81	No	Other Services: Direct Mail	PAC Management Services LLC
Make Liberty Win	Mortensen, Erik House Committee	For	2022	9/19/2022	$1,512.50	No	Other Services: Direct Mail	PAC Management Services LLC
Make Liberty Win	Swoboda, Steven House Committee	For	2022	9/19/2022	$2,266.25	No	Other Services: Direct Mail	PAC Management Services LLC
Make Liberty Win	Phillips, Wendy House Committee	For	2022	9/19/2022	$2,539.53	No	Other Services: Direct Mail	PAC Management Services LLC
Make Liberty Win	Tabke, Brad House Committee	Against	2022	9/19/2022	$2,752.33	No	Other Services: Direct Mail	PAC Management Services LLC
Make Liberty Win	Dippel, Tom Senate Committee	For	2022	9/19/2022	$2,772.50	No	Other Services: Direct Mail	PAC Management Services LLC
Make Liberty Win	Lieske, Bill Senate Committee	For	2022	9/19/2022	$3,186.90	No	Other Services: Direct Mail	PAC Management Services LLC
Make Liberty Win	HILL, JOSIAH House Committee	Against	2022	9/19/2022	$3,943.45	No	Other Services: Direct Mail	PAC Management Services LLC
Make Liberty Win	Hansen, Richard (Rick) J House Committee	Against	2022	9/19/2022	$4,259.85	No	Other Services: Direct Mail	PAC Management Services LLC
Make Liberty Win	Hicks, Kimberly (Kim) House Committee	Against	2022	9/19/2022	$4,806.41	No	Other Services: Direct Mail	PAC Management Services LLC
Make Liberty Win	Seeberger, Judy Senate Committee	Against	2022	9/19/2022	$5,272.33	No	Other Services: Direct Mail	PAC Management Services LLC
Make Liberty Win	Grabau, Clarice Senate Committee	Against	2022	9/19/2022	$6,101.13	No	Other Services: Direct Mail	PAC Management Services LLC

Note that the biggest ticket items are "FOR" independent expenditures for Make Liberty Win endorsed candidates who faced Republican primaries.

Where does the federal Make Liberty Win PAC get its money?

I wasn't able to find Make Liberty Pay searching in the IRS's online database of political non-profits, but the Make Liberty Win political fund in the Federal Election Commission (FEC) does appear to be the Make Liberty Win at 441 North Lee Street Suite 100 Alexandria, VA 22314 that's making contributions to the enonymous PAC in Minnesota.

According to the FEC's fundraising tab for MLW, the hybrid PAC raised $8,160,091.35 between January 01, 2021 to September 30, 2022.  Here are the 24 entries in that tab:

• YOUNG AMERICANS FOR LIBERTY, INC.TX 08/24/2022 $1,233.17
• YOUNG AMERICANS FOR LIBERTY, INC.TX 08/05/2022 $500,000.00
• YOUNG AMERICANS FOR LIBERTY, INC.TX 06/28/2022 $400,000.00
• YOUNG AMERICANS FOR LIBERTY, INC.TX 06/28/2022 $600,000.00
• MODZELEWSKI, STEPHEN CO 06/10/2022 $75,000.00
• MACRICOSTAS, GEORGEN VA 05/27/2022 $94,842.00
• MULLER, JOSHUA SD 05/21/2022 $500.00
• YOUNG AMERICANS FOR LIBERTY, INC. TX 12/31/2021 $53,734.00
• YOUNG AMERICANS FOR LIBERTY, INC. TX 12/30/2021 $750,000.00
• YOUNG AMERICANS FOR LIBERTY, INC. TX 12/30/2021 $800,000.00
• YOUNG AMERICANS FOR LIBERTY, INC. TX 12/30/2021 $950,000.00
• YOUNG AMERICANS FOR LIBERTY, INC. TX 12/30/2021 $1,000,000.00
• TRAMMELL, JOEL TX 12/22/2021 $20,000.00
• SHERWOOD, MICHAEL CA 12/22/2021 $1,000.00
• THOMPSON, DONNA AZ 12/14/2021 $1,000.00
• STUBIN, GABRIEL CA 12/14/2021 $250.00
• HENDRICKS, JONATHON CO 12/14/2021 $500.00
• CANNONE, JESSE TX 12/14/2021 $1,000.00
• LAPEYRE, JAY M LA 12/13/2021 $10,000.00
• DAUGHERTY, LAUREN TX 12/13/2021 $1,000.00
• YOUNG AMERICANS FOR LIBERTY, INC. TX 10/19/2021 $50,000.00
• YOUNG AMERICANS FOR LIBERTY, INC. TX 09/07/2021$150,000.00
• YOUNG AMERICANS FOR LIBERTY, INC. VA 06/30/2021 $18,746.00
• YOUNG AMERICANS FOR LIBERTY, INC. VA 03/24/2021 $150,000.00

None of the individual donors are from Minnesota. As for Young Americans for Liberty? Its Liberty Action Fund filed a termination report with the FEC on January 7, 2019.

The national website for the group doesn't list campus or campus chapters, and the Young Americans for Liberty of Minnesota  Facebook page last posted on January 2, 2017.

Wikipedia's entry for the group notes:

Young Americans for Liberty (YAL) is a libertarian, classical liberal and conservative^[1] student activism organization headquartered in Austin, Texas. Formed in 2008 in the aftermath of the Ron Paul 2008 presidential campaign, YAL establishes chapters on high school and college campuses across the United States, for the purpose of "advancing liberty on campus and in American electoral politics."^[2]

YAL is active on nearly 400 college and university campuses, representing thousands of students. . . .

YAL was founded in 2008 at the end of Congressman Ron Paul's first presidential campaign. Paul's candidacy inspired students to organize on-campus under the banner of Students for Ron Paul. After the 2008 presidential election in November, the movement continued, soon becoming Young Americans for Liberty.^[5][6]

On May 23, 2019, YAL announced it would be moving its headquarters to Austin from Arlington, Virginia, saying that the group "doesn't belong" in Washington, D.C. due to its "toxic environment," and that it was a "rapidly growing organization" that needed more space in its headquarters. . . . ^[7]

Who did the first Minnesota-registered Make Liberty Win PAC support?

The nastygram postcards and ground game isn't the first time a group with this name operated in state legislative races in Minnesota. In July 2020, Bluestem posted Make Liberty Win independent expenditure fund registers with MN campaign finance board, noting:

Make Liberty Win, an independent expenditure fund tied to the Ron-Paul-movement-spawned Young Americans for Liberty (YAFL) registered with the Minnesota Campaign Finance and Public Disclosure Board on Thursday.

The political fund's home page describes the group's mission as "Make Liberty Win is dedicated to electing 250 liberty-defending state legislators.Our activists, stakeholders, and candidates are fighting to advance the cause of liberty and defend our only special interest: the U.S. Constitution."

That's nearly identical to the About page language posted by YAFL: "Our vision is to build a bench of 250 liberty legislators at the state level who will advance a pro-liberty philosophy . . ."

Since independent political expenditure "third period" reports aren't due until July 27--and the last day of spending covered by the report is July 20-- the new fund's committee will have to get busy to have any expenditures for or against candidates to report on that filing. . . .

That committee was terminated in , but in the 2020 election, it spent $128,318.02 FOR three candidates:

Make Liberty Win	Mortensen, Erik House Committee	For	2020	7/11/2020	$28,102.63	No	Other Services: Field Distribution of Literature &	PAC Management Services LLC
Make Liberty Win	Stebbins, Marianne House Committee	For	2020	7/11/2020	$28,102.63	No	Other Services: Field Distribution of Literature &	PAC Management Services LLC
Make Liberty Win	Munson, Jeremy House Committee	For	2020	7/11/2020	$37,470.17	No	Other Services: Field Distribution of Literature &	PAC Management Services LLC
Make Liberty Win	Mortensen, Erik House Committee	For	2020	9/23/2020	$34,642.59	No	Other Services: Field Distribution of Literature,	PAC Management Services LLC

Stebbins lost her primary, while Munson persisted and Mortensen beat Tabke.

Conservation Recreation Training?

As far as the content of the postcards go, well then. Having listened to Hansen chair the Minnesota House Environment and Natural Resources Committee over the years, an attack on a lawmaker using a quote about shooting a white person is beyond tasteless and absurd. What does Representative Hansen want the kiddoes (and the rest of Minnesotans) to learn and treasure? 

Readers might get a hint from his statement on National Hunting and Fishing Day last month:

Saturday, September 24 is National Hunting and Fishing Day. Recognized annually on the fourth Saturday of September, the 2022 occasion will be the 50th celebration of the nation’s rich sporting heritage and abundant natural resources, along with a mission to recruit new hunters and anglers.

Rep. Rick Hansen (DFL – South St. Paul), chair of the Minnesota House Environment and Natural Resources Committee, issued the following statement: 

“Tomorrow marks a special occasion for my family and me, and as a hunter and angler, I want to congratulate all Minnesotans who also participate in these cherished traditions. Coinciding with the state waterfowl opener and Take a Kid Hunting Weekend, I encourage people of all ages and abilities to get outside and enjoy the robust hunting and fishing opportunities our great state offers throughout the year. It’s never too late to pick up a new hobby or develop a new passion, and the Minnesota DNR and other organizations offer numerous resources to help folks get started in the field or on the water. This occasion also gives us all the opportunity to renew our commitment to conservation, environmental stewardship, and safety. Let’s all do our part to tackle threats like Chronic Wasting Disease, aquatic invasive species, and impairments to waters and habitat so future generations can enjoy these activities and create special memories outdoors.” 

Ducks and geese are the targets in Hansen's rhetoric, not this nincompoopery.

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