Vets for Freedom and VoteVets Are "Valuable Public Relations Tools" for Politicians [1]
Submitted by John Stauber [2] on
The Associated Press examines two dueling partisan lobby groups composed of military veterans, "valuable public relations tools" for politicians in the debate over the war in Iraq [3]. VoteVets [4] "has spent about $850,000 this year on political ads. ... Its board of advisers includes ... former Democratic Senator Bob Kerrey [5]," who lobbied for attacking Iraq as a member of the Committee for the Liberation of Iraq [6]. VoteVets is part of Americans Against Escalation in Iraq [7], the MoveOn [8] and SEIU [9] coalition that pressures pro-war Republicans but not Democrats. On the Republican side, the pro-war Vets for Freedom [10] "has worked with former White House spokesman Taylor Gross [11], and Campaign Solutions [12] - headed by Republican consultant R. Rebecca Donatelli [13] - helps manage its online media. Adriel Domenech [14], the press contact for the group, is a former intern with the Republican National Committee [15]," who worked in public affairs for the Bush Administration [16] in Iraq. The AP article fails to mention Iraq Veterans Against the War [17] (IVAW), an independent grassroots group that criticizes both Republicans and Democrats. The Center for Media and Democracy hosted IVAW leaders at a Coffee with the Troops [18] in Chicago at the Netroots Nation [19] (formerly Yearly Kos) convention.