Midwest Values PAC
Encyclopedia
Midwest Values PAC is a political action committee
, or PAC, that was founded by political satirist, best selling author, radio host, and US Senator Al Franken
in the fall of 2005.
Franken has successfully used his national reputation to draw in donations from thousands of individuals, including a number of celebrities such as Barbra Streisand
, Nora Ephron
, Tom Hanks
, Larry David
and Jimmy Smits
. After less than one year of operation, MVP raised nearly $1,000,000.
MVP’s stated goal is "to provide financial and organizational support to progressive candidates, activists, and causes," and is centered around the values Franken learned growing up in Minnesota
.
Through MVP Franken has contributed to national Democratic Party
organizations, Minnesota U.S. Senate candidate Amy Klobuchar
, and U.S. House candidates Coleen Rowley
, Tim Walz
, and Patty Wetterling
.
In 2008, Franken, a Democrat, ran for the US Senate seat
then held by Republican Norm Coleman
. Coleman was elected to the seat in 2002 after Democrat Paul Wellstone
died in a plane crash on October 25 of that year. Franken has said that Wellstone was one of his political heroes, and Franken has frequently criticized Coleman. After a long legal battle, the Minnesota Supreme Court ruled on June 30, 2009 that in fact, Franken had won the election and stated that he deserved for the Governor and Secretary of State to issue a Certificate of Election.
MVP’s short-term goal was to elect what it terms progressive
Democrats, with a particular emphasis on retaking one or both of the houses of Congress in the 2006 mid-term election.
Political action committee
In the United States, a political action committee, or PAC, is the name commonly given to a private group, regardless of size, organized to elect political candidates or to advance the outcome of a political issue or legislation. Legally, what constitutes a "PAC" for purposes of regulation is a...
, or PAC, that was founded by political satirist, best selling author, radio host, and US Senator Al Franken
Al Franken
Alan Stuart "Al" Franken is the junior United States Senator from Minnesota. He is a member of the Minnesota Democratic-Farmer-Labor Party, which affiliates with the national Democratic Party....
in the fall of 2005.
Franken has successfully used his national reputation to draw in donations from thousands of individuals, including a number of celebrities such as Barbra Streisand
Barbra Streisand
Barbra Joan Streisand is an American singer, actress, film producer and director. She has won two Academy Awards, eight Grammy Awards, four Emmy Awards, a Special Tony Award, an American Film Institute award, a Peabody Award, and is one of the few entertainers who have won an Oscar, Emmy, Grammy,...
, Nora Ephron
Nora Ephron
Nora Ephron is an American film director, producer, screenwriter, novelist, playwright, journalist, author, and blogger.She is best known for her romantic comedies and is a triple nominee for the Academy Award for Writing Original Screenplay; for Silkwood, When Harry Met Sally... and Sleepless in...
, Tom Hanks
Tom Hanks
Thomas Jeffrey "Tom" Hanks is an American actor, producer, writer, and director. Hanks worked in television and family-friendly comedies, gaining wide notice in 1988's Big, before achieving success as a dramatic actor in several notable roles, including Andrew Beckett in Philadelphia, the title...
, Larry David
Larry David
Lawrence Gene "Larry" David is an American actor, writer, comedian and producer. He is best known as the co-creator , head writer, and executive producer of the television series Seinfeld from 1989 to 1996, and for creating the 1999 HBO series Curb Your Enthusiasm, a partially improvised sitcom in...
and Jimmy Smits
Jimmy Smits
Jimmy Smits is an American actor. Smits is perhaps best known for his roles as attorney Victor Sifuentes on the 1980s legal drama L.A. Law, as NYPD Detective Bobby Simone on the 1990s police drama NYPD Blue, and as Congressman Matt Santos on The West Wing...
. After less than one year of operation, MVP raised nearly $1,000,000.
MVP’s stated goal is "to provide financial and organizational support to progressive candidates, activists, and causes," and is centered around the values Franken learned growing up in Minnesota
Minnesota
Minnesota is a U.S. state located in the Midwestern United States. The twelfth largest state of the U.S., it is the twenty-first most populous, with 5.3 million residents. Minnesota was carved out of the eastern half of the Minnesota Territory and admitted to the Union as the thirty-second state...
.
Through MVP Franken has contributed to national Democratic Party
Democratic Party (United States)
The Democratic Party is one of two major contemporary political parties in the United States, along with the Republican Party. The party's socially liberal and progressive platform is largely considered center-left in the U.S. political spectrum. The party has the lengthiest record of continuous...
organizations, Minnesota U.S. Senate candidate Amy Klobuchar
Amy Klobuchar
Amy Jean Klobuchar is the senior United States Senator from Minnesota. She is a member of the Minnesota Democratic-Farmer-Labor Party, an affiliate of the Democratic Party...
, and U.S. House candidates Coleen Rowley
Coleen Rowley
Coleen Rowley is a former FBI agent and whistleblower, and was a Democratic-Farmer-Labor Party candidate for Congress in Minnesota's 2nd congressional district, one of eight congressional districts in Minnesota in 2006...
, Tim Walz
Tim Walz
Timothy James Walz is the U.S. Representative for , serving since 2007. He is a member of the Democratic-Farmer-Labor Party .The district comprises the state's southern end, running along the entire border with Iowa...
, and Patty Wetterling
Patty Wetterling
Patty Wetterling is a U.S. advocate of children's safety, particularly focused on protecting children from abduction and abuse. Her advocacy began after her son Jacob was abducted in 1989...
.
In 2008, Franken, a Democrat, ran for the US Senate seat
United States Senate election in Minnesota, 2008
The 2008 United States Senate election in Minnesota took place on November 4, 2008. After a legal battle lasting over eight months, Al Franken from the Democratic-Farmer-Labor Party defeated Republican incumbent Norm Coleman in one of the closest elections in the history of the Senate...
then held by Republican Norm Coleman
Norm Coleman
Norman Bertram Coleman, Jr. is an American attorney and politician. He was a United States senator from Minnesota from 2003 to 2009. Coleman was elected in 2002 and served in the 108th, 109th, and 110th Congresses. Before becoming a senator, he was mayor of Saint Paul, Minnesota, from 1994 to 2002...
. Coleman was elected to the seat in 2002 after Democrat Paul Wellstone
Paul Wellstone
Paul David Wellstone was a two-term U.S. Senator from the state of Minnesota and member of the Democratic-Farmer-Labor Party, which is affiliated with the national Democratic Party. Before being elected to the Senate in 1990, he was a professor of political science at Carleton College...
died in a plane crash on October 25 of that year. Franken has said that Wellstone was one of his political heroes, and Franken has frequently criticized Coleman. After a long legal battle, the Minnesota Supreme Court ruled on June 30, 2009 that in fact, Franken had won the election and stated that he deserved for the Governor and Secretary of State to issue a Certificate of Election.
MVP’s short-term goal was to elect what it terms progressive
Progressivism
Progressivism is an umbrella term for a political ideology advocating or favoring social, political, and economic reform or changes. Progressivism is often viewed by some conservatives, constitutionalists, and libertarians to be in opposition to conservative or reactionary ideologies.The...
Democrats, with a particular emphasis on retaking one or both of the houses of Congress in the 2006 mid-term election.