Freedom’s Watch isn’t looking too closely
We told you earlier that a group called Freedom’s Watch is planning to run ads in NY-25 and NY-29 (Fighting29th notes that Freedom’s Watch disputes the details of the ad buy in the post that we linked to). Well, the campaign is off to a rousing start: Ari Fleischer couldn’t remember the name of the soldier featured in the ad when he was on “Hardball” today:
On MSNBC’s Hardball tonight, former White House press secretary Ari Fleischer, who is leading a White House front group to defend Bush’s escalation, was unable to name the wounded Iraq veteran featured in his organization’s pro-war ad. “I don’t have his name in front of me,†said Fleischer when asked by host Mike Barnicle if he knew the soldier’s name.
Later in the program, Iraq and Afghanistan Veterans of America executive director Paul Rieckhoff ripped into Fleischer’s offensive ignorance. “What bothered me the most is that Ari Fleischer didn’t even know the guy’s name.†said Rieckhoff. “He’s willing to run a multi-million dollar campaign, utilizing the personal story of a soldier, and he couldn’t tell you on national TV what that soldier’s name is.â€
And it doesn’t sound like most Republicans are too excited about this ill-advised campaign:
But a more important question for endangered Republicans is whether they believe a pro-war campaign, orchestrated by former Bush spokesman Ari Fleischer and funded by wealthy GOP backers, helps them push back against pressure from the left or hurts them by giving the issue of the war even more visibility.
Several Republicans contacted Wednesday seem eager to avoid the issue.
hey thanks for the nod of approval
Using wounded and dead troops to make a pro-war point is a double-edged sword. They may re-energize the base, and they may convince some who are wavering in their support of the war. But they also run the risk of losing some who are wavering, because putting severely wounded and dead soldiers front-and-center makes the cost of the war even more apparent.
Also, Fleischer stepped in it, big time - that’s Daily Show/Tonight Show material.
Allegedly, according to Daily Kos, if you call the number on the screen you get connected to an operator - who only puts your call through to Congress if you say you’re against the war!
Err, strike that, *FOR* the war. You get disconnected if you say you’re against.
Perhaps this so-called “Freedom Watch” (a.k.a. 2007 version of “Swift Boat Veterans”) could explain how there are 20,000 U.S. Military deserters in this war? I watched a report on WXXI Now and the numbers are staggering. And the reasons are clear. That’s a HUGE number of deserters in this war. Why aren’t they talking about that?
Jiminy, Jiminy, Jiminy…don’t you know that just proves that some people don’t love freedom?
Dammit - I hate it when you’re right