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Patriot Freedom PAC formed in May. It has one donor, who has given $390,000: Caryn Borland of Corona del Mar, Calif. An investigative project by ProPublica identified Borland and her husband, Michael, as part of a new wave of MAGA-inspired mega-donors. They’ve given $1.59 million to Trump, related PACs and Trump-endorsed candidates.
Alfaro spent $45,000 on the lightsabers, but with fees and shipping, he says they’ve cost the PAC about $75,000. That’s about $3.75 per saber. Critics have noted that they don’t light up or make sounds. And Star Wars nerds have pointed out that the lightsaber isn’t Chewbacca’s weapon. He’s a bowcaster guy.
Is this money well spent? I guess the only opinion that matters is Caryn Borland’s.
The Tshibaka lightsabers do look useful for Halloween costumes, sword fights and the ever-popular kids’ game of “I bonk you on the head.” If you want your own, it’s not too late. Patriot Freedom PAC says they’ll be giving them away again this afternoon at Javier De la Vega Park.
The sabers got me thinking about another bit of campaign swag – the hand fans the campaign of U.S. House candidate Mary Peltola gave out at the Alaska Federation of Natives convention. The fans had a life-sized picture of Peltola's face. Nothing else.
Campaign Manager Anton McParland says the fans were Peltola’s idea. She’d seen Tony Knowles do something similar during one of his campaigns and thought it might work.
Judging it purely as swag, the fans could have bombed. They might have been viewed as cultish or vain, and the utility of a hand fan in Alaska is limited. But the room – the Peltola fans holding the Peltola fans – carried it off.
The fans seemed particularly effective during her keynote address. The sight of hundreds of people on their feet cheering and flashing Peltola’s face made her seem larger than life.
Another moment during AFN that stays with me came on Saturday night. The Peltola campaign sponsored a free concert downtown, featuring Pamyua and Portugal. The Man. It was a full house. The crowd reached peak energy midway through, when Peltola went on stage and everyone sang along as the band played “Proud Mary.”
Where had I just heard that song?
Oh, yeah.
Oct. 9, at the Dena'ina Center, just before Sarah Palin spoke to the largely empty room, one Tina Turner impersonator in a red fringed dress, danced her heart out to “Proud Mary.”
That’s all I’ve got. Thanks for reading. Early in-person voting is underway. You have until Saturday to request an absentee by-mail ballot. And, as always, stay in touch.
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