292:, among others, concurred: "The ads also link the war with September 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."
84:, 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."
87:
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
303:
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
53:
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
343:. 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.
287:
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."
308:
88:
spent weeks working on a package for the presidential election, but the plan did not go forward. Some staff members blamed the problems on major donors who micro-managed the management of the start-up.
307:
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
145:, 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
831:
826:
281:
to maintain
Republican support for President Bush's policies. The advertising campaign emphasized the sacrifice of U.S. troops and their families in Iraq. As
54:
prosperity, and strengthen families." In the 2008 election cycle, Freedom's Watch purchased advertisements in support of
Republican congressional candidates.
340:
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The original president was
Bradley Blakeman, though he resigned in March 2008 after a series of high-level staff departures.
97:
470:
315:. The group also ran ads in support of Republican candidates in two other special elections to fill vacant house seats in
323:. All three Republicans were subsequently defeated by their Democratic challengers in historically Republican districts.
73:
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Congressman and
Senator. Tell them to condemn MoveOn." They also planned to run print advertisements on the subject.
259:
69:
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Bradley A. Blakeman, Republican strategist and former member of George W. Bush's senior staff, served as
President.
775:
563:
537:
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289:
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in Iraq is working," according to one ad. "Victory is America's only choice." The group also claimed that
423:
277:
On August 22, 2007, Freedom's Watch announced a $ 15 million advertising and grass-roots campaign in 20
248:
402:
678:
60:
In December 2008, the organization's board of directors decided to shut it down at the end of 2008.
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and help the Bush administration sell its Iraq policy. It was founded by a 12 people, most notably
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76:. The group was conceived at a Florida meeting of the RJC in March 2007 in part to counter
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339:, Freedom's Watch was running a television advertisement with a script that came from the
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34:
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Matthew Brooks, executive director of the Republican Jewish Coalition (RJC).
146:
38:
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Kevin E. Moley, former U.S. ambassador to international organizations in
104:
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128:
295:
On September 13, the group aired a new television ad, challenging a
679:"GOP calls on top Senate Dem to condemn anti-Petraeus ad - CNN.com"
796:
252:
505:"Great Expectations for a Conservative Group Seem All but Dashed"
120:
216:, board member of the Templeton Growth Fund and financier of
41:
lobbying organization. Freedom's Watch was supportive of the
360:
The donors behind those new TV ads - First Read - msnbc.com
735:"Democrats Accuse GOP Campaign Arm Of Covertly Writing Ad"
636:"Democrats Refocus Message on Iraq After Military Gains."
450:"Big Coffers and a Rising Voice Lift Group on the Right"
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advertisement which questioned the integrity of General
268:
Ed Snider, owner of the Philadelphia Flyers and 76ers.
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Freedom's Watch had a working relationship with the
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141:, he could have been stopped." Iranian president
237:, CEO of Leach Capital and former ambassador to
27:Former American political lobbying organization
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417:
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177:William Weidner, a Las Vegas casino operator.
8:
469:Kane, Paul; Weisman, Jonathan (2008-01-20).
443:
441:
439:
437:
265:Gary Erlbaum, owner of Greentree Properties.
372:"Freedom's Watch web site: 'About Us' page"
341:National Republican Congressional Committee
333:Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee
131:. According to the group's president, "If
832:United States political action committees
398:"Freedom's Watch to shut at end of month"
335:charged that, in a Congressional race in
309:Mississippi 1st district special election
241:who also helped fund the Florida recount.
653:Jake Tapper; Avery Miller (2007-08-22).
534:"Pro-'surge' group is almost all Jewish"
827:Organizations based in Washington, D.C.
352:
655:"Selling the War, Through Advertising"
207:rankings last year, was the top donor.
200:and the fifteenth-richest American in
7:
311:in support of Republican candidate
189:Freedom's Watch's donors included:
135:warnings were heeded when he wrote
807:The Donors Behind Those New TV Ads
787:"Left, Right Proxies Push on Iraq"
703:"Pro-Bush group airs new war ads"
617:"Left, Right Proxies Push on Iraq"
45:administration's positions in the
25:
822:501(c)(4) nonprofit organizations
594:"Blakeman Leaves Freedom's Watch"
471:"A Conservative Answer to MoveOn"
717:A House Race Holds Clues for GOP
161:, a former Bush press secretary.
258:Richard Fox, co-founder of the
776:"Focus Grouping War with Iran"
396:Ward, Jon (December 8, 2008).
1:
733:Kane, Paul (April 16, 2008).
74:American Enterprise Institute
592:Chris Cilliza (2008-03-07).
577:"Battle over Iraq strategy"
540:. 2007-08-24. Archived from
448:Don Van Natta (2007-09-30).
422:Peter Stone (January 2008).
802:Republicans Launch Iraq Ads
582:retrieved 30 September 2007
260:Republican Jewish Coalition
198:Las Vegas Sands Corporation
70:Republican Jewish Coalition
853:
774:Laura Rozen (2007-11-19).
503:Michael Luo (2008-04-12).
227:, and a senior adviser to
96:Freedom's Watch supported
564:The American Conservative
538:Jewish Telegraphic Agency
251:and former ambassador to
231:during the 2000 campaign.
123:is a grave threat to the
107:policies. "More and more
721:The Wall Street Journal
403:The Washington Times
740:The Washington Post
622:The Washington Post
599:The Washington Post
143:Mahmoud Ahmadinejad
115:members agree: The
763:2007-09-29 at the
560:"Surge Protectors"
510:The New York Times
455:The New York Times
284:The New York Times
214:John Templeton, Jr
793:, August 23, 2007
16:(Redirected from
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424:"Betting on Red"
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374:. Archived from
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249:Gioia Management
245:Anthony H. Gioia
218:Let Freedom Ring
35:Washington, D.C.
21:
18:Bradley Blakeman
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837:Sheldon Adelson
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758:Freedom's Watch
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743:. pp. A03.
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194:Sheldon Adelson
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172:Florida recount
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82:Sheldon Adelson
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31:Freedom's Watch
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579:New York Times
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558:(2007-10-08).
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101:George W. Bush
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72:(RJC) and the
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769:SourceWatch
279:U.S. states
273:Advertising
229:Dick Cheney
210:Mel Sembler
168:Mel Sembler
816:Categories
689:2010-05-02
664:2007-09-30
482:2010-05-02
382:2007-10-22
347:References
313:Greg Davis
297:MoveOn.org
247:, head of
138:Mein Kampf
113:Republican
109:Democratic
78:MoveOn.org
51:Republican
337:Louisiana
327:Criticism
321:Louisiana
196:, CEO of
147:terrorist
98:President
92:Positions
39:501(c)(4)
761:Archived
659:ABC News
317:Illinois
290:ABC News
133:Hitler's
105:Iraq War
174:battle.
64:Origins
49:and of
37:-based
239:France
225:Geneva
129:Israel
33:was a
253:Malta
153:Board
117:surge
319:and
127:and
121:Iran
111:and
767:at
683:CNN
149:."
103:'s
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