Watching Freedom's Watch: The Donors

Since 2004, we have been very involved in investigating, exposing, and uncovering the roots and exposing the tactics and lies of the right-wing smear machine. James was involved not only in John Kerry's campaign, but also in the Truth and Trust Team, a group of Kerry friends and family who attempted to fight back against the Swift Boat Veterans.

Dave, of course, followed the campaign and those attacks closely, and then worked with James and others, including our friend, Taylor Marsh, on The Patriot Project in 2006. Created by John Kerry, David Thorne and others, The Patriot Project helped veterans such as Joe Sestak, Patrick Murphy and John Murtha defend themselves -- even looking into previous attacks on John McCain. We also were part of the team that exposed the Economic Freedom Fund, a group created with a $5,000,000 donation from Bob Perry that attacked moderate Democrats, primarily in red states.

Why do folks like Bob Perry give money like that? It's strictly business.

Take, for example, the global warming arena where we have shown folks how the same tactics, the same strategies, the same people sometimes who created this whole smear empire with the tobacco companies, are now doing the same with global warming.

ExxonMobil has given these groups $25 million over the years - often, incredibly, as charitable donations. This past quarter, they had $11.7 billion in record profits. That's a return on investment we all would envy.

Now, we are looking forward not back.

And what we see is a front group on steroids, a massive death star of right wing machinery, floating, ready and waiting.

Freedom's Watch, operating like the opposite of a grassroots-funded progressive group like MoveOn.org, was founded by major donors like

... Sheldon G. Adelson, the chairman and chief executive of the Las Vegas Sands Corporation, who ranks sixth on the Forbes Magazine list of the world's billionaires; Mel Sembler, a shopping center magnate based in St. Petersburg, Fla., who served as the ambassador to Italy and Australia; John M. Templeton Jr., the conservative philanthropist from Bryn Mawr, Pa.; and Anthony H. Gioia, a former ambassador to Malta who heads an investment group based in Buffalo, N.Y. All four men are long-time prolific donors who have raised money on behalf of Republican and conservative causes.

as well as

Richard Fox, one of the major building, development and real estate management companies in eastern Pennsylvania and southern New Jersey and a longtime GOP activist. He co-founded the Republican Jewish Coalition.

Gary Erlbaum, owner of Greentree Properties in Ardmore, Pa., who tried to rally Orthodox Jewish support for last year's failed reelection bid of conservative Christian Sen. Rick Santorum.

Freedom's Watch has direct connections with the Republican Party and is staffed by Republican Party operatives like Ari Fleischer, former White House Spokesperson; Bradley A. Blakeman, a former deputy assistant to George W. Bush; Kevin E. Moley, a senior adviser to Dick Cheney during the 2000 campaign.

Check out their site and their rhetoric. It is a major right wing group and here's the scary part:

Freedom's Watch says it plans to raise over $250,000,000 to play in this election. But Freedom's Watch is a 501(c)(4) organization, which means they can engage in political activity but not as their primary mission. They are allowed to lobby on issues but not support candidates. Yet the group appears to be primarily designed to influence elections in favor of Republican candidates

But who is going enforce the laws? The FEC? The Justice Department? Perhaps Senate Democrats can issue one of their strongly-worded statements of disapproval.

So what do we do?

We watch them -- and we start exposing them now, every day, all day.

We are going to post these articles frequently and often.

We are going to launch a Newsladder where we would appreciate everyone joining and linking up anything they see about this group.

We are going to launch in the coming days a new site, www.watchingfreedomswatch.com where, again, will write and expose this group.

The issue isn't you - and what you know. If you are reading this you are a blog-reader and already know more than most people about how these things work. The issue is whether we can drive narratives and how much knowledge we can give the average American about who these folks really are and what they are up to.

UPDATE:

Please join our Facebook group and help us fight.

http://www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=10334712497

Comments

[hopeless277]

As long as the Republicans control congress(see the FISA vote), it doesn't matter who is in the WH. So even if a Dem gets in, that Dem will have a great excuse for following Republican inititaves, congress won't send me bills I can sign. And the occupation will continue, and the looting of the treasury will continue, and the jailing and torturing of American citizens will continue, and the rape and murder of women and children in Iraq will continue, and the funnling of billions from taxpayers to corporations will continue. One day the world will look up and decide that the U.S. has gone far enough. And we will be Germany, 1939.

[Aaror]

Quite frankly, we need to be ready to fight fire with fire. I am not saying fire the first shot, but lets load up some ammunition and make sure the rethugs know we have it.
It is one thing for the republicans to set up a swiftboat operation, closely coordinate with the candidate, and know that the dems will only defend, it is another thing if their candidate knows the same thing will happen to him. And quite frankly, if they start lying, maybe we should too, all in a denyable front group like, say, Forristal Veterans for Truth?
McCain was a pilot whose ordinance blew up the carrier he was on. There is some evidence he did not start the Forristal disaster, but after what was done to Kerry, we can do the same thing right back. Hundreds of sailors died, and McCain was more interested in saving his own skin than getting his plane, loaded with bombs, off the deck. When it blew up, it killed the fire-fighting party, and the best hope of stopping the disaster. If he had just driven his plane off the deck and ejected, who knows how many lives would have been saved.
And as for the "I was a POW," perhaps we should have our delegates wear purple heart band-aids to the convention this year, see how the repubs like it...
Of course, all this doesn't start until the repubs start dirty tricks, but we map it all out and set up the front groups now, so that they know we are serious. Fight fire with fire!

[Dave Johnson and James Boyce - Huffpost Blogger]

"McCain was a pilot whose ordinance blew up the carrier he was on. There is some evidence he did not start the Forristal disaster, but after what was done to Kerry, we can do the same thing right back."

I just disagree. This stuff is not good for the country - as we have witnessed. McCain served honorably and sacrificed much for our country.

There is plenty of basis to oppose his candidacy. His age and health alone are reasons to question his appropriateness for this office at this time, and this is not an attack on his character. His policies and those of his party could further harm the country. Those are not attacks on his character, they are the kinds of things we should be debating in a democracy.

The right offers hate, fear and negativity and they have a massive, corporate-funded machine to propagandize the public. This has poisoned the politics of this country for decades.

Progressives offer the country a positive and inclusive path to prosperity and happiness. But we don't have a machine for getting that word out.

[realitytrumpsbull]

Yeah, well I saw emperor Palpatine in lipstick and heels, walking out to go get on his speeder bike and take a ride down to Mos Eisley.

Democrat, Republican, Martian, whatever you want to call yourself, if you're not looking at the fiscal side, it's all Global Whining.

People smack-talk each other all day in politics-land, try to trip each other up, and generally act like children, all in the Holy Quest For Control Of The Big Check Machine.
Gosh-darn those people and their Magic Money.
The Tyranny Of The Steady Paycheck...which will now be replaced by The Tyranny Of The Bowl Of Steaming...rock soup.
On one hand, I'm sorry to see globalizationer go forward, on the other, I fully understand why they packed their suitcases and bolted.
Would you want lebenty-zillion in preloaded tax obligations being levied against your marginally successful company? Um, no.

I think they should pass the Balanced Budget Act, and hang 2 signs in front of Capitol Hill:
"No Soliciting", and "Under New Management". Find the most parsimonious, selfish, evil-minded @#$@#$ that they can, and put a whole squad of people just like him in charge of the budget. Put 16 or 17 additional checks and balances in the way of any federal spending,
rat-blank the budgeting process SO bad that they won't be able to help but stack up money over time, and end deficit spending forever and all perpetuity. Corruption is when people won't get off their butts for less than 50 bucks an hour, it about killed Ford and GM. Oh, what a feeling, indeed...

[jennix]

Congrats for spear-heading this effort. Will do what I can to help. Let me know what I can do for you.

[SubparDude]

:
The way to track these fine gents is through the SEC and IRS filings they Must Make, and which are public (though obscure) records.

They cannot hide their tracks and they Hate Publicity. Solution: use the truth of their own conduct to expose and pursue them.

Cheers!
:

[argent1]

There are grassroot right wing slime machines operating at the behest of the mentioned groups in the article. They have their marching orders on how to attack Clinton - who they have experience with, and Obama of whom they can fire directly at in racist tones-
Their lips are smacking at the chance.
I know this because of a former co-worker who joins with the attack and slime machine propagandists. They meet one to one, exchange talking points and spread them among all their friends via email, at the grocery store, cub scout meetings, church. A whisper campaign. - They approach the elderly and brainwash their children. They support all military actions, and pray for some undercover assassination especially on Obama.

There are of course the Arians who are wanting to change things in another direction. Sound conspiratorial? It is! The slimey world exists. I have met them and they want to eat your children.

[Herrington]

As the X-files tag line suggests, "the truth is out there".

I'll do my bit by linking on my: mondaymorningeconomist.com.

I have a posting there that refers to freedom of speech and will be especially relevant to the debate that is coming over the concept of extending McCain Fiengold type limits to PACs in the general election. It is entitled: Am I Free to Speak.

This is one of the two most pressing issues of our time, the other being the fundamental lies perpetrated by the right as to how economies work. Both issues need public attention in the worst possible way, the survival and definition of truly free speech being the more important, because through it, and no other means, the public may find that "the truth is out there".

[Wulfstan]

When big business controls government it is called Fascism. You know like they had in Nazi Germany a few years back. Interestingly Prescott Bush was a Nazi sympathizer in WW2.

[JulieSA]

Big deal. This is no different from all the various Soros and Lewis funded groups. You're right to follow the money, but be aware that the Dems are just as busy in this field, if not more so. In 2004, the top 15 527s were all Dem orgs staffed by party operatives, and many of them were, like Moveon (grassroots my ass), funded by Soros. ACT disbanded after having to pay a large fine for FEC violations.

BTW, McCain-Feingold is to blame for all this obscurity. That bill drove much of the money underground where it's harder to track.

[Herrington]

Gee Julie, I see that you have taken a very recent interest in HuffPo. You have certainly learned a bunch in ten days.

[PKSSK]

Excellent point Herrington!!!! Always look at the profile of the poster, such as date of first post to the site and who the fans of the user are!!!

Julie is obviously a repub, freedom watch troll!!!

Always check the souce of post!!!

[Dave Johnson and James Boyce - Huffpost Blogger]

Thanks for stopping by, Rush!

[peonyharp]

I'm in!

Thank you Dave and James for showing the way. I joined the Burma Ladder at its inception, and I'll be here for this one too -- spreading the word as far as possible.

[Berettasskeeter]

MoveOn as a grassroots organization?? Funded in majority part by George Soros!? How does that equate to a grassroots organization?
Semper fi

[Dave Johnson and James Boyce - Huffpost Blogger]

Soros gave some money one time to MoveOn. It is not funded in the majority by anyone -- this is a lie. MoveOn has hundreds of thousands of small donors - that is the point of the organization. What is your point, coming here and repeating right-wing lies?

(Dave J)

[realitytrumpsbull]

Right wing, left wing, what's the sound of one wing flapping? A shrieking death spiral, just like a bird. Well, this 'birdie' has 2 wings, one left, one right, and they don't work so good unless they pull in unison.

One thing Bush has managed to do is to unify people AGAINST the pretty hate machine. The military-industrial horseshit story that kind of appears to be their legacy has siphoned hundreds of billions out of the federal coffers, the 'big suck', if you will, and it's kind of interesting to think about the individuals that were willing to ride that party train. Massive amounts of fraud and public corruption, completely disingenuous with the public at-large, a lot of Shady Business with foreign dictators, yeah, they're done.
And, they can have all the hyperstealthy whatses that they want, but it's still an untenable public tax burden that needs to be reformed and probably drastically reduced.
But, it won't go quietly into that dark night,
no, not by far. The politicians will keep cranking that tired calliope, trying to scoop up people stupid and corrupt enough to be a part of it. They can call it 'defense' if they want, but defense against what, honesty? Solvency? Integrity? What IS truth? Power corrupts...even in Bible-thumpistan. Maybe ESPECIALLY in Bible-thumpistan. Or, Koran-athumpistan. Or pretty much anyone rolling with religious literature under their arm and a little agenda happening, there. How many more people have to die for these stupid social manipulation headgames? Time for an integrity check...curb your politician.

[joebaggadonuts]

The freedomswatch folks may be doing it legally. If they are putting the money toward lobbying primarily. But there is lobbying and there is also Lobbying.

http://www.davidbrin.com/blackmail.html

[LeonBNJ]

What I think you should do is to go after all big contributors to such thug organizations, publicize their contributions, the cause they are supporting and the businesses they are connected with. Perhaps you should recommend legitment non-political non-profits who are in need of money like for food banks, scholarships to State schools, community health services to seek contributions from them and to give to them rather than some politican.

[nottoworry]

While I am reading and my heart sinking at what is being told to me, my only thought is "What can I/we do to counteract this vicious activity?" And my common senses says "not much".

Then in the middle of this essay, you gave the answer to me. "Watch and Report."

This type of activity is the poison that is destroying our country! Let's at least try to expose them so they will at least know we are on to them.