Freedom's Watch
Freedom's Watch was a
Bradley A. Blakeman, Republican strategist and former member of George W. Bush's senior staff, served as President.
In December 2008, the organization's board of directors decided to shut it down at the end of 2008.[3]
Origins
Freedom's Watch had a working relationship with the
In 2008, the group became paralyzed by internal problems and plagued by gridlock and infighting, according to Republican operatives who criticized Adelson's insistence on parceling out money project by project, which limited the group's ability to plan and be nimble.[7] For example, the organization spent weeks working on a package for the presidential election, but the plan did not go forward.[7] Some staff members blamed the problems on major donors who micro-managed the management of the start-up.
Positions
Freedom's Watch supported President George W. Bush's Iraq War policies. "More and more Democratic and Republican members agree: The surge in Iraq is working," according to one ad. "Victory is America's only choice."[10] The group also claimed that Iran is a grave threat to the United States and Israel. According to the group's president, "If Hitler's warnings were heeded when he wrote Mein Kampf, he could have been stopped." Iranian president Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, he continued, "is giving all the same kind of warning signs to us, and the region—he wants the destruction of the United States and the destruction of Israel." One ad called Ahmadinejad "a terrorist."[5]
Board
- Ari Fleischer,[8] a former Bush press secretary.
- Matthew Brooks,[8] executive director of the Republican Jewish Coalition (RJC).
- Florida recountbattle.
- William Weidner,[8] a Las Vegas casino operator.
The original president was Bradley Blakeman, though he resigned in March 2008 after a series of high-level staff departures. [11]
Notable donors
Freedom's Watch's donors included:[12]
- Mel Sembler
- John Templeton, Jr, board member of the Templeton Growth Fund and financier of Let Freedom Ring.
- Kevin E. Moley, former U.S. ambassador to international organizations in Geneva, and a senior adviser to Dick Cheney during the 2000 campaign.
- Howard Leach, CEO of Leach Capital and former ambassador to Francewho also helped fund the Florida recount.
- Anthony H. Gioia, head of Gioia Management and former ambassador to Malta.
- Richard Fox, co-founder of the Republican Jewish Coalition.
- Gary Erlbaum, owner of Greentree Properties.
- Ed Snider, owner of the Philadelphia Flyers and 76ers.
Advertising
On August 22, 2007, Freedom's Watch announced a $15 million advertising and grass-roots campaign in 20 U.S. states to maintain Republican support for President Bush's policies.[12][13] The advertising campaign emphasized the sacrifice of U.S. troops and their families in Iraq. As The New York Times wrote, "Several of the group's spots suggested that Iraq, rather than Al Qaeda, was behind the September 11 attacks, even though the independent September 11 commission investigation and other inquiries found no evidence of Iraq's involvement."[5] ABC News, among others, concurred: "The ads also link the war with September 11, despite no reliable evidence Iraq played any role in those attacks."[14] In one advertisement, a war widow claims, "I lost two family members to Al Qaeda—my uncle, a firefighter, on 9/11, and my husband, Travis, in Iraq. Congress did the right thing, voting to defeat terrorism in Iraq and Afghanistan," adding that, "Switching their votes now, for political reasons, it will mean more attacks in America." In another ad, an Iraq war veteran states, "They attacked us, and they will again. They won't stop in Iraq."[14]
On September 13, the group aired a new television ad, challenging a
Freedom's Watch also purchased advertisements during the 2008 election cycle in support of Republican congressional candidates. For example, the group purchased $550,000 in advertising in the
Criticism
In 2008, the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee charged that, in a Congressional race in Louisiana, Freedom's Watch was running a television advertisement with a script that came from the National Republican Congressional Committee. Such coordination with the NRCC would be illegal for Freedom's Watch because of the latter's status as an independent group. A media consultant working for Freedom's Watch responded that the apparent origin of the script with the NRCC was the result of an innocent mistake.[18]
References
- ^ The donors behind those new TV ads - First Read - msnbc.com
- ^ "Freedom's Watch web site: 'About Us' page". Archived from the original on 2007-10-11. Retrieved 2007-10-22.
- ^ Ward, Jon (December 8, 2008). "Freedom's Watch to shut at end of month". The Washington Times.
- ^ a b c Peter Stone (January 2008). "Betting on Red". Mother Jones.
- ^ a b c d Don Van Natta (2007-09-30). "Big Coffers and a Rising Voice Lift Group on the Right". The New York Times.
- Washington Post. Retrieved 2010-05-02.
- ^ a b c d Michael Luo (2008-04-12). "Great Expectations for a Conservative Group Seem All but Dashed". The New York Times.
- ^ a b c d e "Pro-'surge' group is almost all Jewish". Jewish Telegraphic Agency. 2007-08-24. Archived from the original on 2007-09-02.
- ^ Philip Weiss (2007-10-08). "Surge Protectors". The American Conservative.
- ^ "Battle over Iraq strategy" New York Times retrieved 30 September 2007
- ^ Chris Cilliza (2008-03-07). "Blakeman Leaves Freedom's Watch". The Washington Post.
- ^ a b "Left, Right Proxies Push on Iraq". The Washington Post. 2007-08-23.
- ^ "Democrats Refocus Message on Iraq After Military Gains." Washington Post
- ^ a b Jake Tapper; Avery Miller (2007-08-22). "Selling the War, Through Advertising". ABC News. Retrieved 2007-09-30.
- ^ "GOP calls on top Senate Dem to condemn anti-Petraeus ad - CNN.com". CNN. 2007-09-10. Retrieved 2010-05-02.
- ^ "Pro-Bush group airs new war ads" Associated Press
- ^ A House Race Holds Clues for GOP, Susan Davis, The Wall Street Journal, May 13, 2008.
- ^ Kane, Paul (April 16, 2008). "Democrats Accuse GOP Campaign Arm Of Covertly Writing Ad". The Washington Post. pp. A03.
External links
- Freedom's Watch Archived 2007-09-29 at the SourceWatch
- Laura Rozen (2007-11-19). "Focus Grouping War with Iran". Mother Jones.
- "Left, Right Proxies Push on Iraq", Washington Post, August 23, 2007
- Official site
- Republicans Launch Iraq Ads
- The Donors Behind Those New TV Ads