Freedom's Watch
Encyclopedia
Freedom's Watch was a Washington D.C. based 501(c)(4) lobbying organization. Freedom's Watch was supportive of the Bush
administration's positions in the War on Terror
and of Republican
Congressional candidates. The group was run and supported, in part, by several former officials of the Bush administration. The organization stated that its goal was "educating individuals about and advancing public policies that protect America’s interests at home and abroad, foster economic prosperity, and strengthen families." In the 2008 election cycle, Freedom's Watch purchased advertisements in support of Republican congressional candidates.
In December 2008, the organization's board of directors decided to shut it down at the end of 2008.
(RJC) and the American Enterprise Institute
. The group was conceived at a Florida meeting of the RJC in March 2007
in part to counter MoveOn.org and help the Bush administration sell its Iraq policy. It was founded by a 12 people, most notably Sheldon Adelson
, who donated almost all of its initial funding. Four out of five members of Freedom's Watch original board were Republican Jews, and four of the eight initial donors were Jewish, though board member Matt Brooks said "it would be a mistake to regard the group as having a Jewish direction," and noted that "half of the donors contributing to the group's first $15 million ad campaign are not Jewish."
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. For example, the organization spent weeks working on a package for the presidential election, but the plan did not go forward. Some staff members blamed the problems on Freedom's Watch president Bradley Blakeman, who resigned in March 2008.
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." 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 Ahmadenijad "a terrorist
".
The original president was Bradley Blakeman, though he resigned in March 2008 after a series of high-level staff departures.
s to maintain Republican support for President Bush's policies. 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." 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 planned to run print advertisements on the subject.
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
. 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.
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." 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." 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."
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.
George W. Bush
George Walker Bush is an American politician who served as the 43rd President of the United States, from 2001 to 2009. Before that, he was the 46th Governor of Texas, having served from 1995 to 2000....
administration's positions in the War on Terror
War on Terror
The War on Terror is a term commonly applied to an international military campaign led by the United States and the United Kingdom with the support of other North Atlantic Treaty Organisation as well as non-NATO countries...
and of Republican
Republican Party (United States)
The Republican Party is one of the two major contemporary political parties in the United States, along with the Democratic Party. Founded by anti-slavery expansion activists in 1854, it is often called the GOP . The party's platform generally reflects American conservatism in the U.S...
Congressional candidates. The group was run and supported, in part, by several former officials of the Bush administration. The organization stated that its goal was "educating individuals about and advancing public policies that protect America’s interests at home and abroad, foster economic prosperity, and strengthen families." In the 2008 election cycle, Freedom's Watch purchased advertisements in support of Republican congressional candidates.
In December 2008, the organization's board of directors decided to shut it down at the end of 2008.
Origins
Freedom's Watch had a working relationship with the Republican Jewish CoalitionRepublican Jewish Coalition
The Republican Jewish Coalition , founded in 1985, is a political lobbying group in the United States that promotes Jewish Republicans. The RJC claims that it is the most important voice on conservative political issues for the Jewish-American community...
(RJC) and the American Enterprise Institute
American Enterprise Institute
The American Enterprise Institute for Public Policy Research is a conservative think tank founded in 1943. Its stated mission is "to defend the principles and improve the institutions of American freedom and democratic capitalism—limited government, private enterprise, individual liberty and...
. The group was conceived at a Florida meeting of the RJC in March 2007
in part to counter MoveOn.org and help the Bush administration sell its Iraq policy. It was founded by a 12 people, most notably Sheldon Adelson
Sheldon Adelson
Sheldon Gary Adelson is an American casino magnate. Adelson is Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of the Las Vegas Sands Corp., the parent company of Venetian Macao Limited which operates The Venetian Resort Hotel Casino and the Sands Expo and Convention Center...
, who donated almost all of its initial funding. Four out of five members of Freedom's Watch original board were Republican Jews, and four of the eight initial donors were Jewish, though board member Matt Brooks said "it would be a mistake to regard the group as having a Jewish direction," and noted that "half of the donors contributing to the group's first $15 million ad campaign are not Jewish."
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. For example, the organization spent weeks working on a package for the presidential election, but the plan did not go forward. Some staff members blamed the problems on Freedom's Watch president Bradley Blakeman, who resigned in March 2008.
Positions
Freedom's Watch supported PresidentPresident of the United States
The President of the United States of America is the head of state and head of government of the United States. The president leads the executive branch of the federal government and is the commander-in-chief of the United States Armed Forces....
George W. Bush
George W. Bush
George Walker Bush is an American politician who served as the 43rd President of the United States, from 2001 to 2009. Before that, he was the 46th Governor of Texas, having served from 1995 to 2000....
's Iraq War policies. "More and more Democratic
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...
and Republican
Republican Party (United States)
The Republican Party is one of the two major contemporary political parties in the United States, along with the Democratic Party. Founded by anti-slavery expansion activists in 1854, it is often called the GOP . The party's platform generally reflects American conservatism in the U.S...
members agree: The surge
Iraq War troop surge of 2007
In the context of the Iraq War, the surge refers to United States President George W. Bush's 2007 increase in the number of American troops in order to provide security to Baghdad and Al Anbar Province....
in Iraq is working," according to one ad. "Victory is America's only choice." The group also claimed that Iran
Iran
Iran , officially the Islamic Republic of Iran , is a country in Southern and Western Asia. The name "Iran" has been in use natively since the Sassanian era and came into use internationally in 1935, before which the country was known to the Western world as Persia...
is a grave threat to the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
and Israel
Israel
The State of Israel is a parliamentary republic located in the Middle East, along the eastern shore of the Mediterranean Sea...
. According to the group's president, "If Hitler's
Adolf Hitler
Adolf Hitler was an Austrian-born German politician and the leader of the National Socialist German Workers Party , commonly referred to as the Nazi Party). He was Chancellor of Germany from 1933 to 1945, and head of state from 1934 to 1945...
warnings were heeded when he wrote 'Mein Kampf
Mein Kampf
Mein Kampf is a book written by Nazi leader Adolf Hitler. It combines elements of autobiography with an exposition of Hitler's political ideology. Volume 1 of Mein Kampf was published in 1925 and Volume 2 in 1926...
,' 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 Ahmadenijad "a terrorist
Terrorism
Terrorism is the systematic use of terror, especially as a means of coercion. In the international community, however, terrorism has no universally agreed, legally binding, criminal law definition...
".
Board
- Ari FleischerAri FleischerOn May 19, 2003, he announced that he would resign during the summer, citing a desire to spend more time with his wife and to work in the private sector...
, a former Bush press secretary. - Matthew Brooks, executive director of the Republican Jewish Coalition (RJC).
- Mel SemblerMel SemblerMelvin Floyd Sembler is former United States Ambassador to Italy , and former Ambassador to Australia and Nauru . He has also served as Chairman of the Board of the Sembler Company, which develops and manages shopping centers, and co-founder of Straight, Inc., a controversial drug-treatment center...
, a longtime RJC leader and former ambassador to Italy who helped finance the 2000 Florida recount battle. - William Weidner, 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.
Notable donors
Freedom's Watch's donors included:- Sheldon AdelsonSheldon AdelsonSheldon Gary Adelson is an American casino magnate. Adelson is Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of the Las Vegas Sands Corp., the parent company of Venetian Macao Limited which operates The Venetian Resort Hotel Casino and the Sands Expo and Convention Center...
, CEO of Las Vegas Sands CorporationLas Vegas SandsLas Vegas Sands Corp. is an integrated resort company based in Paradise, Nevada, USA.-History:Founded in 1988, the company was the owner and operator of the Sands Hotel, which was demolished in 1996 to make room for The Venetian, which opened in 1999....
and the fifteenth richest American in Forbes magazine's rankings last year, was the top donor. - Mel Sembler
- John Templeton, JrJohn Templeton, JrJohn Marks Templeton, Jr. is the elder son of the stock investor, businessman and philanthropist John Templeton and serves as the Chairman and President of the John Templeton Foundation....
, board member of the Templeton Growth Fund and financier of Let Freedom Ring. - Kevin E. Moley, former U.S. ambassador to international organizations in GenevaGenevaGeneva In the national languages of Switzerland the city is known as Genf , Ginevra and Genevra is the second-most-populous city in Switzerland and is the most populous city of Romandie, the French-speaking part of Switzerland...
, and a senior adviser to Dick CheneyDick CheneyRichard Bruce "Dick" Cheney served as the 46th Vice President of the United States , under George W. Bush....
during the 2000 campaign. - Howard Leach, CEO of Leach Capital and former ambassador to FranceFranceThe French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
who also helped fund the Florida recount. - Anthony H. GioiaAnthony H. GioiaAnthony H. Gioia was a United States State Department official and former United States Ambassador to Malta. Before becoming an ambassador, Gioia served as the president of Gioia Macaroni Company and as Chairman of the National Pasta Association.Gioia has a bachelors degree from State University...
, head of Gioia Management and former ambassador to MaltaMaltaMalta , officially known as the Republic of Malta , is a Southern European country consisting of an archipelago situated in the centre of the Mediterranean, south of Sicily, east of Tunisia and north of Libya, with Gibraltar to the west and Alexandria to the east.Malta covers just over in...
. - Richard Fox, co-founder of the Republican Jewish CoalitionRepublican Jewish CoalitionThe Republican Jewish Coalition , founded in 1985, is a political lobbying group in the United States that promotes Jewish Republicans. The RJC claims that it is the most important voice on conservative political issues for the Jewish-American community...
. - Gary Erlbaum, owner of Greentree Properties.
- Ed Snider, owner of the Philadelphia Flyers and 76'ers.
Advertising
On August 22, 2007 Freedom's Watch announced a $15 million advertising and grass-roots campaign in 20 U.S. stateU.S. state
A U.S. state is any one of the 50 federated states of the United States of America that share sovereignty with the federal government. Because of this shared sovereignty, an American is a citizen both of the federal entity and of his or her state of domicile. Four states use the official title of...
s to maintain Republican support for President Bush's policies. 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
David Petraeus
David Howell Petraeus is the current Director of the Central Intelligence Agency, sworn in on September 6, 2011. Prior to his assuming the directorship of the CIA, Petraeus was a four-star general serving over 37 years in the United States Army. His last assignments in the Army were as commander...
saying "General Petraeus or General Betray Us?" and "Cooking the Books for the White House." 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 planned to run print advertisements on the subject.
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
Mississippi's 1st congressional district special election, 2008
The 2008 Mississippi 1st congressional district special election was a special election in the state of Mississippi to determine who would serve the remainder of former Representative Roger Wicker's term...
in support of Republican candidate Greg Davis
Greg Davis (Mississippi politician)
For other persons with these names, see Greg Davis and Charles Davis.Charles Gregory "Greg" Davis is the mayor of Southaven, Mississippi, the state's third largest city, and was the Republican Party nominee for Mississippi's 1st congressional district in the 2008 special and general elections.-...
. The group also ran ads in support of Republican candidates in two other special elections to fill vacant house seats in Illinois
Illinois
Illinois is the fifth-most populous state of the United States of America, and is often noted for being a microcosm of the entire country. With Chicago in the northeast, small industrial cities and great agricultural productivity in central and northern Illinois, and natural resources like coal,...
and Louisiana
Louisiana
Louisiana is a state located in the southern region of the United States of America. Its capital is Baton Rouge and largest city is New Orleans. Louisiana is the only state in the U.S. with political subdivisions termed parishes, which are local governments equivalent to counties...
. All three Republicans were subsequently defeated by their Democratic challengers in historically Republican districts.
Criticism
Freedom's Watch's first major advertising campaign emphasized the sacrifice of U.S. troops and their families in Iraq. As The New York TimesThe New York Times
The New York Times is an American daily newspaper founded and continuously published in New York City since 1851. The New York Times has won 106 Pulitzer Prizes, the most of any news organization...
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." ABC News
ABC News
ABC News is the news gathering and broadcasting division of American broadcast television network ABC, a subsidiary of The Walt Disney Company...
, among others, concurred: "The ads also link the war with Sept. 11, despite no reliable evidence Iraq played any role in those attacks." 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."
In 2008, the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee
Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee
The Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee is the Democratic Hill committee for the United States House of Representatives, working to elect Democrats to that body. They play a critical role in recruiting candidates, raising funds, and organizing races in districts that are expected to yield...
charged that, in a Congressional race in Louisiana
Louisiana
Louisiana is a state located in the southern region of the United States of America. Its capital is Baton Rouge and largest city is New Orleans. Louisiana is the only state in the U.S. with political subdivisions termed parishes, which are local governments equivalent to counties...
, Freedom's Watch was running a television advertisement with a script that came from the National Republican Congressional Committee
National Republican Congressional Committee
The National Republican Congressional Committee is the Republican Hill committee which works to elect Republicans to the United States House of Representatives....
. 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.
External links
- Official site (now defunct)
- Congresspedia article on Freedoms Watch
- "Left, Right Proxies Push on Iraq", Washington Post, August 23, 2007
- The Donors Behind Those New TV Ads
- Republicans Launch Iraq Ads
- Freedoms Watch Newsladder
- Freedoms Watch Is No More