Freedom's Watch to shut at end of month (Ari Fleischer's group runs out of money)

[sabra]

Source: WashTimes

The conservative political advocacy group, Freedom's Watch, is shutting down at the end of the month, after a year in which its main benefactor was financially battered by the current recession.

...

But the board of directors, which includes former White House spokesman Ari Fleischer and former Ambassador to Italy Mel Sembler, has decided to shut it down completely, multiple sources said.

...

The group's dependence on Las Vegas casino magnate Sheldon Adelson, one of the GOP's biggest donors, was in the end its undoing.

Only a year ago, Mr. Adelson was the third-richest man in America, with a net worth of $28 billion. Flush with cash, he was the driving force behind Freedom's Watch, which registered as a political lobbying group in September 2007.

Mr. Adelson's company, Las Vegas Sands Corp., has since then lost 95 percent of its stock value, reaching a low of $2.89 a share in November, down from $122.96 a share one year ago.

Read more: http://washingtontimes.com/news/2008/dec/08/freedoms-watch-shut-end-month/