Freedom's Watch

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.

Freedom's Watch had a working relationship with the Republican Jewish Coalition (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 Major Donors who micro-managed the management of the start-up. Bradley A. Blakeman former member of George W. Bush's Senior Staff was its President.

Freedom's Watch supported President 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".

...
Wikipedia