FreedomWorks

God, guns, and freedom U.S. Politics

Starting arguments over Thanksgiving dinner

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Persons of interest

Herman Cain Elbert Guillory Ron Johnson George Romney Benjamin Franklin Woodrow Wilson v - t - e

FreedomWorks, along with Americans for Prosperity (AFP), was an offshoot of Lobbyists Citizens for a Sound Economy (CSE). FreedomWorks was founded by Dick Armey and Matt Kibbe, who authored the Wingnut Tea Party Manifesto together. It supported the same sort of Koch-sucking trickle down policies as AFP (though FreedomWorks itself has no known connections to the Kochs outside of its origins in CSE, as it doesn't disclose all its donors), but one-upped them by dredging up the even dumber Austrian school of economics from the dustbin of history as well. It was probably the most visible and egregiously blatant astroturf group behind Teabaggery, with lobbyists organizing bus trips, funding, and talking points for its members.

Changing of the guard

In September 2012, Armey was ousted from FreedomWorks after attempting to force Kibbe and senior vice president Adam Brandon out over "ethical misconduct". Armey and Kibbe had been in disagreement over who to back in the 2012 elections — Kibbe wanted to back Tea Party candidates, whereas Armey wanted to back traditional Republicans — which led to the rift between them. It was later revealed that Armey's assistant (who escorted Kibbe and Brandon from the building) was armed — though this may have been a precaution, in the aftermath of the shooting at the Family Research Council.

Armey was replaced by Randroid millionaire Richard Stephenson, who founded the Cancer Treatment Centers of America.

Demise

After struggling for relevance in the era of Trumpism (whose protectionism, big spending, and aggressive anti-immigration stances clashed with FreedomWorks' libertarian love of small government and free trade), FreedomWorks was dissolved on May 7, 2024.

See also

• The denialist Cooler Heads Coalition

External links

• FreedomWorks Homepage
  
• Sourcewatch Page on FreedomWorks