Behind The Front: The Pro-War "Freedom's Watch"

In the early 1970s, the Nixon Administration took a page out of the tobacco industry's playbook and actively organized front groups to counter the anti-war efforts of Vietnam veterans like John Kerry and Bobby Muller. Men like John O'Neill -- later to re-appear as one of the Swift Boat Veterans -- were hired to create what Watergate felon Charles Colson called "counter-foils."

Today with the launch of "Freedoms Watch" our politics are further poisoned by the appearance of another mutant variation of this front-group tactic. Freedoms Watch is a shadowy 501c4 organization created to try to keep Republicans from abandoning the White House on Iraq. Ironically, on the very day the President invoked the legacy of Vietnam, his administration has created this Nixonian front-group counter-foil.

First of all, what is a Front Group? Front Groups have been used by the tobacco industry and the oil and energy companies to create the illusion of independence. "Freedoms Watch" can't just come out and call themselves "former White House aides and Republican fundraisers" so they create a supposedly independent group and fund it heavily. Everyone pretends it is an independent organization that sprang up from grassroots supporters of the war.

So who is behind this front group? While there is some public disclosure of who is involved, there is none on their own web site.

On www.freedomwatch.org, there is no listing of people involved, no names and no contact address. Not ONE SINGLE PERSON is listed as being affiliated with the group. According to the press, "President Bush's first White House press secretary, Ari Fleischer, is the group's spokesman."

What is interesting to note about this site is how similar it is to one of the largest front groups created last cycle, Economic Freedom Fund. This group which was funded by five million dollars from Karl Rove confidante, Bob Perry, attacked Democrats throughout the cycle.

Life Freedoms Watch, their site has no name of an actual person associated with them.

Of course, this is not surprising. We also tracked back where their website is located (they made a little mistake which we caught).

The company, Democracy Data and Communications is a leader in the "astroturf" industry. Their clients include primarily Republican-associated big businesses associations. They actually built a site called www.voteforgeorgebush.com last cycle.

Give them a cause, and a percentage of the $15 million, they'll build you a site and ads.

When "Freedoms Watch" releases their records, we will have a clearer vision into who is giving them money -- $15,000,000 is a lot of money to raise -- and how they are spending their money.

For now, we know they have a lot of money, and they intend to spend it.

And, there is one more funny thing that our good friend Taylor Marsh pointed out. (She also has the first tv spots in her post.) If you call the 1-800 Number that "Freedom's Watch" offers you for contacting your representative, they only actually connect you, if you agree with their policies.

Comments

[Spookcatcher]

Rove has left the Watchful eyes in Washington proper to run hundreds of shadow operations. The American Public needs to have a dedicated 501 team to watch him alone.

[Chris]

But Moveon.org is great.

[darker]

"Freedom's Watch"?? hahahahaaa­aaaa... it's dial is broken!

Watch their bottom lines, instead!
pro-Republican corporations NEED WAR to get rich:
IT'S THE BOTTOM LINE, STUPID.
War pays BIG.

Bush-Cheney's mission accomplished is to shovel taxpayer dollars out of USTreasury into pockets of war-industry, Big Oil, corrupt nob-bid contractors, all of whom are not held accountable for looting the taxpayers.

Bush-Cheney "patriotism" = lying, cheating, stealing and killing. They feel "entitled" to do whatever they want, for as long as possible.
While they keep STALLING to keep the LOOTING going.

Too bad so many thousands of USTroops and others are now dead or maimed. R.I.P.

BOTTOM LINE--uber alles.

[PrinceHal]

Ari Fleischer fronted his little front group on "Hardball" today (Wednesday), and was a way-better non-stop talker than he ever was as Bush's press agent.

He was helped by the silence of Mike Barnicle, standing in for Chris Matthews. Barnicle asked how many Iraqis were on the airliner hurtling into the WTC on Fleischer's TV commercial. Ari's response: a relentless attack on back-dating the argument to 2001.

All the while, we were watching his commercial with the 2001 words, "They attacked us" ("They" equals Iraq to Ari and Co.) overprinted on the 2001 hurtling airliner.

Barnicle's response to Ari's non-stop rant: Nada. Niente. Nothing.

Hey, don't Americans know Iraq had nothing to do with 9/11 yet? Well, some of us do. But can the country withstand this renewed bombardment of old lies repackaged?

[BobHanssen]

But when Barnicle asked the name of the legless Iraqi vet in the commercial, Ari didn't know. Very telling.

[Sundialsvc4]

"Oh, whatever..­."

This is =so= "old media."

I suppose that they can =blow= $15 million ("I'll take it!! I'll take it!!") on what any ol' fool could generate in a good weekend. If they want to...

But, "John Kerry was THERE. And George Bush WASN'T." And, believe it or not, there is STILL an entire generation of older-but-wiser men who STILL REMEMBER Vietnam. Some of them venture every day to a horrific gash somewhere between the Capitol and the Lincoln Memorial .. a gash lined with rock-entombed names that never should have been there. Names that will never be forgotten, at least not by SOME.

Believe it or not, somehow this Nation will survive the likes of George W. Bush. Will throw him away, beyond the walls of the City, never to be considered again.

This Nation will Move On.

[CaptainObvious]

"Believe it or not, somehow this Nation will survive the likes of George W. Bush. Will throw him away, beyond the walls of the City, never to be considered again."

I wish I could be as optimistic as you.

[Rescisco]

Just exactly when did Democracy die in America? Anyone know where its grave is? I'd like to send flowers.

[hopeless277]

Nov 4, 2000. Keep the flowers, you'll need them.