Richard A. Smith
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| Motto | The voice of America's 21st century patriots |
|---|---|
| Formation | 2006 |
| Type | (PAC) and non-profit 501(c)(4) |
|
Membership
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220,000 |
| Website | VetVoice.com |
VoteVets.org is organized as a progressive political action committee (PAC) and non-profit 501(c)(4) status in the United States. It was co-founded in 2006 by Jon Soltz and Jeremy Broussard.
Initially composed of United States Iraq and Afghanistan war veterans, the organization views defense policy as an American priority. The stated goal of the PAC is to put in Congress Afghanistan or Iraq war veterans who are critical of the execution of the war in Iraq.
According to the VoteVets.org, the goal of the 501(c)(4) is to educate the American public on the war and military issues, and hold politicians accountable. In February 2007, a VoteVets.org spokesman told The Washington Post that the group had 20,000 members, including 1,000 veterans of the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan'. According to the group's website, the group has over 220,000 supporters.
Although a nonpartisan organization, it has been described as "closely aligned with Congressional Democrats," and "liberal" in news stories. In a June 2011 press release, the organization specifically identified itself as the "largest progressive group of veterans in America."
During the United States 2006 election cycle, VoteVets.org PAC spent between $1.2 and $2 million (sources differ) trying to influence the outcomes of various congressional races. Senators targeted by the VoteVets' campaign for their support of the Iraq War include: Republicans George Allen, Rick Santorum, Conrad Burns, and Jim Talent. For each congressional campaign, they released a television advertisement criticizing the (now former) senators for their vote against body armor for US troops in 2003. VoteVets claim was based, in part, on the Republican senators' vote against an amendment offered by Democratic Louisiana Senator Mary Landrieu, in 2003, to boost National Guard and Reserves equipment funding by $1 billion. The group FactCheck.org (a self-described non-partisan project of the Annenberg Center at the University of Pennsylvania) stated that the ad was misleading because the 2003 Senate budget amendment (on which the criticism was based) made no specific reference to "body armor". However, the progressive Media Matters for America repeatedly pointed out what it said were "misleading" statements about the ads by FactCheck.org.
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