Reader LCR tipped me to this earlier this morning: a pro-war “non-partisan” interest group that’s getting major assistance from some very partisan GOP operatives.
The organization calls itself “Vets for Freedom,” and its leadership has labored to get “good news” about the Iraq war into the media, by just about any means necessary: as talking heads, in opinion pieces, even as “reporters” themselves. They’ve also run a couple offensives against Democratic Rep. John Murtha (D-PA) for speaking out against the war.
According to the Buffalo News and the Center for Media and Democracy, its executive director is a veteran of not only the Iraq war but also GOP campaigning: he was a field director for Republican Jerry Kilgore’s 2005 Virginia gubernatorial bid. (The News and CMD have done all the heavy lifting on this story.)
The group, which opened its doors this January, appears to have been set up and promoted with the help of a couple established Republican campaign consultancies: the cybersavvy Donatelli Group (and its subsidiary, Campaign Solutions), and the media relations firm the Herald Group.
The Donatelli Group, which helped out with the Swift Boat Veterans for Truth campaign, appear to have helped with the Vets for Freedom’s Web site and fundraising apparatus.
The Herald Group, which was founded by former White House flack Taylor Gross and two other GOP operatives, has pushed several newspapers to run writings by the group’s leadership — both reported journalism and opinion pieces — favorable of the war.
Aside from its connections, there are reasons to doubt the group’s claim to non-partisanship. For starters, they have twice issued press releases attacking Democratic Rep. John Murtha (D-PA) for his statements on the Iraq war. (They have issued no other press releases attacking politicians.)
As well, a version of their privacy policy stated that “We may from time to time share the information our visitors provide with other Republican
candidates and other like-minded organizations.” (Within an hour of the Center for Media and Democracy publicizing this, the group stripped the language from its policy.)
According to The Buffalo News, no one seems to know where their money comes from, or who’s calling the shots. Are they operating on their own? Are their efforts coordinated by or with partisans? So far, the evidence doesn’t point to comforting answers.
