Freedom's Watch

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Freedom's Watch is a Washington D.C. based 501(c)(4) lobbying organization. Freedom's Watch is supportive of the Bush administration's positions in the War on Terror and of Republican Congressional candidates. The group is run and supported, in part, by several former officials of the Bush administration.^[1] The organization states that its goal is "educating individuals about and advancing public policies that protect America’s interests at home and abroad, foster economic prosperity, and strengthen families." ^[2] In the 2008 election cycle, Freedom's Watch purchased advertisements in support of Republican congressional candidates.

1 Positions
2 Leadership
3 Notable donors
4 Advertising
5 Criticism
6 References
7 External links

[edit] Positions

President Bush's Iraq War policies should be supported. "More and more Democratic and Republican members agree: The surge in Iraq is working," according to one ad. "Victory is America's only choice."^[3]

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 continues, "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 calls Ahmadenijad "a terrorist."^[4]

[edit] Leadership

The Washington Post lists the following members and donors for Freedoms Watch:

Bradley A. Blakeman, president. A former deputy assistant to George W. Bush.
Ari Fleischer, board member. A former Bush press secretary.
Matthew Brooks, board member. Executive director of the Republican Jewish Coalition.

[edit] Notable donors

Mel Sembler, donor. Former ambassador to Italy who helped finance the 2000 Florida recount battle).
John Templeton Jr., donor. Board member of the Templeton Growth Fund and financier of Let Freedom Ring.
Sheldon Adelson, donor. CEO of Las Vegas Sands Corporation and the third-richest American in Forbes magazine's rankings last year.
Kevin E. Moley, donor. Former U.S. ambassador to international organizations in Geneva, and a senior adviser to Dick Cheney during the 2000 campaign.
Howard Leach, donor. CEO of Leach Capital and former ambassador to France who also helped fund the Florida recount.
Anthony Gioia, donor. Head of Gioia Management and former ambassador to Malta).
Richard Fox, donor. Co-founder of the Republican Jewish Coalition.
Gary Erlbaum, donor. Owner of Greentree Properties.

[edit] Advertising

On August 22, 2007 Freedoms Watch announced a $15 million advertising and grass-roots campaign in 20 U.S. states to maintain Republican support for President Bush's policies.^[5]^[6] The ads rolled out upon this announcement focused on sacrifices being made by U.S. troops and their families.

On September 13, the group aired a new television ad, challenging a MoveOn.org advertisement which questioned the integrity of General David Petraeus saying "General Petraeus or General Betray Us?" and "Cooking the Books for the White House." ^[7] The advertisement stated, "Name calling, charges of betrayal it's despicable. It's what MoveOn shamefully does — and it's wrong. America and the forces of freedom are winning. MoveOn is losing. Call your Congressman and Senator. Tell them to condemn MoveOn." They also plan to run print advertisements on the subject. ^[8]

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 Mississippi 1st district special election in support of Republican candidate Greg Davis.^[9] The group also ran ads in support of Republican candidates in two other special elections to fill vacant house seats in Illinois and Louisiana. All three Republicans were subsequently defeated by their Democratic challengers in historically Republican districts.

[edit] Criticism

Freedoms Watch was first mentioned at the winter 2007 meeting of the Republican Jewish Coalition (JTA), a pro-Israel lobby group networking Jewish-American neoconservatives, leaders of the Christian Right and conservatives in Israel. Four out of five members of Freedoms Watch board and up to half of its donors are Jewish, though the group says this is a coincidence.^[10] It denies that it is primarily devoted to Israel’s security and promoting a United States war on Iran to defend Israel.^[11]

Freedoms Watch's first major 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 Sept. 11 attacks, even though the independent Sept. 11 commission investigation and other inquiries found no evidence of Iraq's involvement."^[12] ABC News, among others, concurred: "The ads also link the war with Sept. 11, despite no reliable evidence Iraq played any role in those attacks."^[13] 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]

In 2008, the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee charged that, in a Congressional race in Louisiana, Freedoms 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 Freedoms Watch because of the latter's status as an independent group. A media consultant working for Freedoms Watch responded that the apparent origin of the script with the NRCC was the result of an innocent mistake.^[15]