Center for the Defense of Free Enterprise

From SourceWatch
Revision as of 05:54, 9 June 2004 by Bob Burton (talk | contribs)
Jump to navigation Jump to search

A cornerstone of Ron Arnold's Wise Use Movement, the Center for the Defense of Free Enterprise (CDFE) claims to be "a non-partisan education and research organization which works on free enterprise studies, public policy research, book publishing, conferences, white papers, and media outreach." Their website proclaims they track "threats to free markets, property rights and limited government."

Personnel

The 2002 Form 990 return for the IRS states that both Arnold and Gotlieb work 20 hours per week for the CDFE without receiving any payment.

Advisors have included:
• Senator Ted Stevens (R-AK)
• Vice President and former Secretary of Defense Dick Cheney
• Richard Ichord (American Freedom Coalition)
• Barbara Keating (Consumer Alert)
• William Simon (Heritage Foundation)

History

Since the late 1980's, CDFE has been at the center of the 'Wise Use' movement. CDFE was originally founded by Alan Gottlieb July 4, 1976 "the bicentennial of the American Revolution" as CDFE points out in its statement of purpose. [1]. The Second Amendment Foundation and the Citizen's Committee for the Right to Keep and Bear Arms were founded at the same time, and CDFE is still affiliated with both gun groups.

"The Center for the Defense of Free Enterprise's programs include research, publication, conferences, consulting, training and media awareness on threats to free enterprise. We operate a book publishing division, the Free Enterprise Press, to disseminate important investigative and analytical research, and have a variety of programs to help individuals and businesses face free enterprise-related crises," it states. [2]

"CDFE has received national recognition for its programs and services, particularly in tracking the money of non-profit groups opposing free enterprise. Although we receive no government funding, we are dedicated to providing information and assistance to those struggling with government interference and civilian opposition to free enterprise," it states. [3]

In December 1991 Gottlieb, a direct-mail fundraising specialist, told New York Times reporter Timothy Egan that he shifted his focus away from the threat of gun control and Senator Edward Kennedy to environmentalism when he realized the fundraising potential.

Gottlieb explained that direct mail fundraising works best when there is "an evil empire" perceived as posing a threat that will prompt mail recipients to contribute. "For us ... the environmental movement has become the perfect bogeyman," Gottlied said.

In June 1993, Arnold told Washington Times reporter Valerie Richardson that "since the Democrats got into power, our income has doubled."

According to the CLEAR website, CDFE and Ron Arnold, its Executive Vice President, are "considered by many to be the founding and principle strategy-setting forces in the grassroots anti-environmental movement."

In Ron Arnold's essay "Overcoming Ideology" he depicts environmentalists as "eco-ideologists" whose stand "against promoting economic growth, technological progress and a market economy" stands in sharp contrast to the wise use movement's actual stewardship of the land, the water and the air." Environmentalists are portrayed as "eco-fetishists" whose moral self-righteousness is "about the people, but not by or for them."

The Environmental Working Group, in a Wise Use group analysis, says it is ironic that the CDFE website represents a credible, rational opposition to the environmental movement given Arnold's role:

"in developing the radical, polarized and extreme early version of 'wise use' that vilified environmentalism and environmental activists, threatening that his goal was to 'kill the bastards.' (CNN interview, May 30, 1993) The[n] again, Arnold has also been quoted as having said that "Facts don't matter. In politics, perception is reality." (Outside magazine, December, 1991)" [4]

Focusing on the "threats" posed by environmentalists, CDFE runs seminars and conferences and radio programs, and puts out training videos, books, and newsletters, all with the intent of teaching Wise Use supporters how to "fight back" against environmentalists. In addition, director Ron Arnold, under the CDFE banner, has frequently testified before Congress on topics such as the threats of 'ecoterrorism'.

Beyond the 'Wise Use' movement

For all the hype about its plans, CDFE gives the impression of a floundering organisation.

The conservative Capital Research Center, which has published several articles by Arnold since 2000 states in its Green Watch database that CDFE "publishes The Private Sector, a quarterly, Advise and Consent, a periodical, and the Wise Use Conservation Memo, a quarterly". [5] However, there is no mention of these publications on the CDFE website.

In its 2002 IRS return CDFE lists only two achievements for the organisation in the preceding year. The first was that it had "created a publicly accessible computer database tracking activities and donations to anti-industry groups." It is a project that emulates what other conservative - and bigger budget -groups are doing. Despite this CDFE outlined that in 2002 it planned to press on. "Expand existing publicly accessible computer database to track activities and donations of animal rights groups," it stated. [6]

According to CDFE its other achivement for 2001 was that it "published an important new book by a widely respected crisis managment executive to aid businesses faced with organized opposition.".

CDFE also planned to take advantage of the focus on terrorism in the aftermath of the September 11 terrorist. "Create an outreach program increasing public awareness of eco-terrorism and how the public can help law enforcement stop anti-business crime," it stated as an objective for 2002.

The CDFE website features categories such as PETA-probe and "eco-imperialism" and the latest headlines from the bastion of right-wing journalism, Fox News.

CDFE also hosts two other websites:

  • Undue Influence: "tracking the environmental movement's money, power, and harm" (http://www.undueinfluence.com/);
  • and the anti-Rainforest Action Network site RANamuck where they talk about Rainforest Action Network's "ties to other radical groups, … their anti-capitalist ideology, and … their lawless and dangerous activities" [7].

However, both sites contain increasingly dated information. The last entry in the news section for RANamuck is September 2002 and much of the data for Undue Influence, while reasonably extensive, dates back to 2000.

While CDFE have made a name for themselves championing anti-environmentalism, their advocacy efforts occasionally take a bizarre twist. In July 2003 Arnold issue a media release calling on the U.S. Justice Department to prevent a takeover bid of computer software company PeopleSoft by Oracle.

The month before Arnold had dispatched a media release to business editors stating that it had developed a list of major "scandals in the making" and was launching "Scandal-Scan because of recent corporate scandals". In what reads like a pitch seeking support from the business community CDFE announced that it was "taking action before they can become 'corporate disasters.'"

The problems identified weren't corporate accounting standards but issues such as the activities of the Nature Conservancy, and re-insurance contracts. Topping the list, though, was "greenmail". "Are corporations being coerced into paying off activist organizations in exchange for their no longer accusing them of 'social irresponsibility' or environmental damage? Are such non-profit activist groups subject to Federal Trade Commission rules on anti-competitive acts and collusions with for-profit firms to unfairly manipulate markets and damage competing businesses?," the media release asked.

Current CDFE activities

At CDFE's website you can also read "the rave reviews of Paul Driessen's new book Eco-Imperialism: Green Power, Black Death that exposes the green racist agenda to withhold malaria control and life-saving GMO crops from Africa and other developing nations. A horrifying account of green genocide." They fail to mention that the supposed ban on DDT in some third world countries, used to control malaria, is a myth [8] [9]. They also fail to mention the known and significant hazards presented by GMO foods, and that most countries, including African countries, have banned them.

In February 2004 Driessen appeared before the House Resources Subcommittee on Energy and Mineral Resources as a senior fellow at three think-tanks - the Atlas Economic Research Foundation, Center for the Defense of Free Enterprise and Committee For A Constructive Tomorrow. Driessen explained that he was Director of the Economic Human Rights Project which he said was "an initiative of the Center for the Defense of Free Enterprise, in cooperation with the Congress of Racial Equality."

"Reflecting its belief that 'Economic rights are human rights' the growing coalition is dedicated to correcting prevalent environmental myths and misguided policies that help perpetuate poverty, misery, disease and early death in developing countries," he said.

Aside from Driessen, Arnold has flagged that is working on another book critiquing the promotion of renewable energy technologies by environmental groups.

In June 2004, the CDFE posted a commentary article from a commentary Canadian newspaper objecting to environmental campaigns against the seal hunting to its website. The accompanying note summarised what CDFE thought of environmental groups. "Now it's time to turn the tables and outlaw or de-fund the anti-extraction groups that practice this barbaric brand of deliberate destruction of resource-extracting cultures." [10]

Funding

CDFE is a tax-exempt educational organization under Section 501(c)(3) of the United States Tax Code. Employer Identification Number (EIN) is 91-0973976. CDFE states that it is a "non-partisan" non-profit that "accepts no government grants". [11]

The Capital Research Center, states in its Green Watch database that CDFE has a "membership" of 75,000.[12] However, this seems overstated given the CDFE finances of recent years have been been modest.

FUNDING (partial historical listing)
• Coors Foundation
• Georgia Pacific
• Louisiana-Pacific
• MacMillan Bloedel
• Pacific Lumber
• Exxon
• DuPont, Agricultural Products Division
• Boise Cascade
• Seneca Sawmills
• Sun Studs
• Burkland Lumber
• F.M. Kirby Foundation

In 2003 ExxonMobil donated $40,000 to CDFE for "global climate change issues". [13]

Contact Information

Center for the Defense of Free Enterprise 12500 NE 10th Place
Bellevue, WA 98005
Tel.: 206.455.5038
http://www.cdfe.org/

Related Resources

  • Timothy Egan, "Fund-Raisers tap Anti-environmentalism", New York Times, December 19, 1991.
  • Valerie Richardson, "'Wise Use' drive fights environmentalists: grass-roots groups spread across West to defend human, business interests", Washington Times, June 20, 1993.
  • "Statement of Paul K. Driessen, APR, Esq. Director, Economic Human Rights Project to House Resources Subcommittee on Energy and Mineral Resources", February 4, 2004.
  • Testimony of Ron Arnold, Hearing of the Crime Subcommittee of the House Judiciary Committee, Subject: Eco-terrorism, June 9, 1998.
  • Ron Arnold, Washington Times, June 20, 1993. GET FULL REF
  • Jim Halpin and Paul de Armond, "Alan Gottlieb: The Merchant of Fear;" detailed article on Gottlieb, as well as Ron Arnold and their involvement in the Wise Use movement and CDFE.
  • Ron Arnold, "Overcoming Ideology;" the CDFE headline declares this essay is "regarded by many as the seminal expression of the ideas that have evolved into the richly diverse wise use movement."
  • Center for the Defense of Free Enterprise, "Foundation Calls on Justice Department to Stop Oracle's Bid to Buy PeopleSoft", Media Release, U.S. Newswire, July 8, 2003.
  • Ron Arnold, "In Antitrust We Trust", Investor's Business Daily, July 15, 2003.
  • Ron Arnold, "Oracle's bluff", letter to the editor, Chicago Tribune, July 16, 2003.
  • Center for the Defense of Free Enterprise, "Center for the Defense of Free Enterprise Releases First List of Major 'Scandals in the Making'; Problems Include 'Greenmail,' 'Reinsurance'", Media Release, PRNewswire, June 18, 2003.
Retrieved from "https://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php?title=Center_for_the_Defense_of_Free_Enterprise&oldid=37112"