The chairman of Gathering of Eagles (GOE), Ret. U.S. Navy Captain Larry Bailey (he was a leader of GOE’s protest of Cindy Sheehan’s Journey For Humanity & Accountability in Charlotte, NC on July 17), was the president of the Vietnam Vets for the Truth, "which attacked 2004 Democratic Presidential candidate Senator John Kerry's military record, on the heels of the more well-known" Swift Boat Veterans for Truth. (Raw Story). He reorganized the group as The Vets For The Truth in 2006 (& VFTT accepted donations on behalf of GOE). Bailey is a member of the DC chapter of Free Republic.
The GOE’s press contact Kristinn Taylor is a co-leader of the DC chapter of Free Republic. His bio on the FR site refers to him as “Warlord of the D.C. Chapter of FreeRepublic.com” and having been a member of FR since 1998.
Free Republic (FR) has a Gathering Of Eagles section on their website/“forum”, which is included in the menu at the top of their site. Free Republic is an openly right-wing, pro-Republican blog/forum type website and organization. Kristinn Taylor has a recent posting on FR concerning the DC Free Republic’s plan to disrupt the July 23 March from Arlington Cemetery to Rep. Conyers for Impeachment, being led by Cindy Sheehan.
In fact, it appears Free Republic is a main driving force behind Gathering of Eagles, which serves as an umbrella group for FR and the organizations they are related too.
Key organizations that promoted and participated in the launching of the Gathering Of Eagles & their first counter-protest at the March 17, 2007 March on the Pentagon are Move America Forward, Free Republic, and Rolling Thunder.
Conservative journalists that promoted and covered the GOE creation/counter-protest include Front Page Magazine’s Jaime Glazov and syndicated columnist Michelle Malkin. Malkin had articles published in places such as National Review Online and The New York Post and, of course, posted on Free Republic.
In a Feb 28, 2007 article Malkin wrote:
"Sgt. Artie Muller, founder of Rolling Thunder, the POW/MIA advocacy group, has called on his 80-plus chartered chapters to turn out. Move America Forward, a grassroots, nonprofit, pro-military charity, is launching a caravan from California March 8 to join the Eagles and will bring flags from across the country for the event.”
Move America Forward (MAF) is lead by California Republican activists, talk show hosts and staff members of the public relations firm Russo Marsh & Rogers. MAF’s California Articles of Incorporation registration address was that of PR firm Russo Marsh and Rogers (their first .com web address was also registered under the name Russo Marsh and Rogers). The firm has strong ties to the Republican Party.
Move America Forward’s “Chief Strategist” Sal Russo is the founder and principal of Russo Marsh and Rogers, though he chooses not to list that on his MAF bio.
Melanie Morgan is the chairman of Move America Forward. She is a columnist for WorldNetDaily and conservative radio talk show host at KSFO in San Francisco. She has, or at least had, an email address with the PR firm Russo Marsh & Rogers, Melanie@RMRWest.Net.
Rolling Thunder claims to be a POW/MIA advocacy organization. However, their ardent support of right-wing, pro-Republican organizations and their active role in organizing and participating in their “events” reveals another agenda as well.
At Rolling Thunder’s last rally in Washington, DC on May 27, 2007, two of their featured speakers were “Capt. Larry Bailey USN, Retired” and “Kristinn Taylor freerepublic.com”. The leader of their group met privately with President Bush prior to their rally.
This is just a small sample of the close connections between Gathering Of Eagles, Move America Forward, Free Republic, Rolling Thunder and the Republican Party and conservative media. There is much more information available in the public domain, mostly from these groups websites and conservative media outlets.
Sources:
Gathering of Eagles’ website
Move America Forward’s website
Free Republic’s website
Rolling Thunder’s website
Russo Marsh and Rogers’ website
National Review Online
New York Post
Front Page Magazine
C-Span
WhatReallyHappened.com
Raw Story
David Dixon is founder & coordinator of the social justice organization Action Center For Justice and OperationImpeachment.org. To learn more see www.CharlotteAction.org, www.OperationImpeachment.org or call 704.492.8527.
Mr Dixon.
ReplyDeleteDarn you! You've exposed our network! We're ruined!
Now everyone knows Gathering of Eagles is Republicans and Conservatives. How is my Mama gonna take this awful news?
You've been googling in the dark again, haven't you David? It must have taken a full 20 minutes to dig up that much dirt on the Eagles and affiliates. Why would you need to 'expose' GOE affiliations with Free Republic, Move America Forward, Michelle Malkin (fantastic woman) and Rolling Thunder? It should be obvious to anyone capable of employing minute quantities of common sense, that right wing organizations that love their country, love their military and support a war effort against our enemies, just might have an affiliation or two. They just might have a small overlap of memberships.
Ah, but I forgot that your target audience here is not capable of producing thought on their own. Oops, my bad. You were just passing out the daily opinion rations.
While I'm here, might as well talk about that flat 'cut' tire lie you've been pushing. Tell Cindy she flatters herself. Why would anyone on the right wing want her to go away. You and her are the single largest embarrassment to the Dhimmicrat party - and that is saying alot. Make that ALOT.
The only reason we pick on her is because she's the only one stupid enough to go all over the country spouting your treasonous lies. Personally, I'd much rather take on Hanoi Jane. That black hearted witch has forgotten more about America hating than Cindy will ever learn. When are you gonna drag her out of the Old Retired Traitors Home for another round of screeching 'troop support'?
Oh yea, back to the flat 'cut' tire hoax. If it was true, my guess would be it was cut by one of your own that Cindy left abandoned in Bryant Park, Charlotte N.C. Remember them? Those poor, empty headed Moonbats that gathered in the park to support the Sheehan. And she didnt even bother to get out of the car and say Howdy Do, Y'all! She was scared. She ran, retreated and re-deployed to a grocery store. Left those sad old hippies to the mercy of The Gathering Of Eagles.
I'm done.
I am Ross McDowell. I live in Johnston County, North Carolina.
I am the North Carolina State Coordinator for the Gathering Of Eagles.
I am an American!