Vets for Freedom/Donatelli Group & the Swift Boat Connection

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This article is part of the Center for Media & Democracy's spotlight on front groups and corporate spin.

This article is part of the SourceWatch coverage of Vets for Freedom (VFF) and
Vets for Freedom Action Fund (VFF-AF).
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An internet search for "Vets for Freedom" + fundraising arrives at a donation page bearing the same logos and information as other VFF web pages.

However, the web address is that for DonationReport.com, plus an extension code for VFF (which was actually the extension code for VFF-AF but now redirects to a VFF page).[1] The original VFF extension code is also active.[2]

The connection for the DonationReport.com website[3] arrives at a Login[4]—requiring both a User ID and Password—which belongs to eDonation.com, a member of The Donatelli Group, a fundraising company that has raised campaign funds for the Republican National Committee, Republican National Convention, Bush-Cheney '04 Inc., John McCain, the NRA[5] and an exhaustive list of Republican members of the U.S. Senate and the U.S. House of Representatives, as well as other political organizations.[6]

The Donatelli Group, using its "primary segment" Campaign Solutions[7], is associated with Creative Response Concepts, the public relations firm that advised Swift Boat Veterans for Truth, the "organization that accused Kerry of inflating his Vietnam War record" during the 2004 presidential campaign.[8]

The Donatelli Group, which produced the RNC website[9], also created the SWIFTBOATVETSFORTRUTH.ORG website July 30, 2004, with Connell Donatelli Inc.[10] (a.k.a. The Donatelli Group) as Registrant. Connell Donatelli Inc. was also listed as both Administrator and the Tech Organization for the Swift Boat Veterans for Truth website.[11]

eDonation.com lists Vets for Freedom among its current and past clients.[12]

References

  1. ↑ DonationReport.com website, accessed July 5, 2007. This was the extension code used for VFF-AF and redirects to a VFF page.
  2. ↑ VFF, DonationReport.com, accessed July 5, 2007.
  3. ↑ DonationReport.com website.
  4. ↑ Login page, DonationReport.com.
  5. ↑ Erin McPike, "Two Republican Web Giants Form Connell Donatelli Inc.," CampaignLine.com, August 20, 2004.
  6. ↑ Clients, CampaignSolutions.com.
  7. ↑ edonation.com website
  8. ↑ News data file, Committee for Justice.
  9. ↑ "Information on the RNC Organizers," OnePeoplesProject.com, last updated August 29, 2004; accessed July 3, 2007.
  10. ↑ ConnellDonatelli.com website.
  11. ↑ "Re: Bush, O'Neill, Swifties and Purple Heart Band-aids," Mailgate, September 11, 2004; accessed July 3, 2007.
  12. ↑ "Current and Past eDonation Clients," eDonation.com, accessed July 16, 2007.
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