TheVanguard.Org

The Vanguard.Org was launched in March 2006 as an organization by founder and Chairman Rod D. Martin as a challenge to MoveOn.org. The web address dates to May 1998.

The organization has "a top-drawer cast, including Silicon Valley heavy-hitters like Eric Jackson (a former PayPal colleague of Martin's, where he was head of marketing) and Gil Amelio (former CEO of two Fortune 500 companies, including Apple Computer) (bio), among others," Stephanie Dube wrote January 17, 2007, for Human Events Online. Many of TheVanguard's staff and advisors are members of the secretive conservative group the Council for National Policy.

Martin "has both entrepreneurial&mdash;he worked for the Internet commerce site PayPal&mdash;and movement experience&mdash;he is a member of the Federalist Society and the secretive Council on National Policy among other far right groups," Bill Berkowitz wrote February 28, 2007, for Inter Press Service.

In 1999, Martin was the Executive Director of the Eagle Forum of Arkansas. 

Martin "holds Life Memberships in Gun Owners of America and the National Rifle Association and 'also serves as Executive Vice President of the National Federation of Republican Assemblies (NFRA) (web), on the Board of Governors of the Council for National Policy, and as a member of The Arlington Group'," Berkowitz wrote February 5, 2007, for Media Transparency. Martin also served as Director of Policy Planning and Research for Arkansas Governor and GOP2008 presidential hopeful Mike Huckabee.

"But it is far from an all-California show," Dube wrote. "Americans for Tax Reform founder Grover Norquist is on its board too, as are Club for Growth founder (and current Wall Street Journal editorial board member) Stephen Moore, famed actress Jane Russell, direct-mail pioneer Walt Longyear, 'compassionate conservatism' guru Marvin Olasky, even Reagan Doctrine-architect Jack Wheeler. Martin refuses to confirm or deny rumors that Jerome Corsi—co-author of 2004's 'Unfit for Command,' which irreparably damaged John Kerry's presidential hopes—has signed on for a similar effort against" Hillary Clinton.

Corsi also "assisted" Swift Boat Veterans for Truth in its smear campaign against Kerry in the 2004 presidential election. 

Another "new employee is Richard Poe, a longtime journalist and former employee of conservative provocateur/entrepreneur David Horowitz, who is the group's editorial and creative director," Berkowitz wrote. "Poe recently co-authored, with Horowitz, The Shadow Party: How George Soros, Hillary Clinton, and Sixties Radicals Seized Control of the Democratic Party, a book that accuses liberals of using deception, lies, and Soros' dough to take over the country.

"Poe has also been a close observer of Hillary Clinton, having penned Hillary's Secret War, which according to the author, describes 'how Hillary Clinton and the left's 'shadow government' have laboured to put her and her far-left agenda in the White House by controlling the still-uncensored flow of real news to Americans -- via the Internet'," Berkowitz wrote.

"Martin and gang don't come from the 'kinder gentler' school of conservatism. These are hardball players backed by the requisite hardball rhetoric," Berkowitz wrote.

The Name and the Mission
TheVanguard.Org home page states:


 * "Let's Take the Fight to MoveOn


 * "Founded by some of Silicon Valley's most successful conservatives, TheVanguard.Org is here to take the battle to the enemy. Read more about how we're going to fix the Republicans and beat the Democrats in 2008, and be part of our Plan for Victory."

"If TheVanguard.org sounds familiar," Stephanie Dube wrote January 17, 2007, for Human Events Online, "it is: Martin's earlier, all-volunteer Vanguard Policy Action Council, has been around for years. And the name has deeper origins still. 'It comes from Lenin’s description of the Communist Party as the vanguard of the revolution,' he says. 'We're tweaking the left; we're also asserting the revolution of Washington and Madison.'"

"At present, there are several noteworthy things about TheVanguard.org," Bill Berkowitz wrote February 28, 2007, for Inter Press Service: "the origin of its name; its stated goal to both emulate and take on MoveOn.org; its mix of Silicon Valley pedigree and fundraising sources with veteran movement conservatives; its weaving of so-called traditional religious principles with secular conservatism; and its hiring of dedicated slash-and-burn right-wing ideologues."

About TheVanguard.Org
The Vanguard.Org describes itself as "an online community of Americans who believe in conservative values, the free market and limited government as the best means to bring hope and ever-increasing opportunity to everyone, especially the poorest among us. We empower regular people to exercise their rights and fulfill their civic responsibilities, by organizing with them for effective action; by training candidates and citizens in the nuts and bolts of how to win; and by promoting policy ideas calculated to reshape America and the globe." 

Senior Leadership Team
The following are listed as members of the organization's senior leadership team (biographical links on page):


 * Rod D. Martin, J.D., Founder and Chairman
 * Sherri Ross Martin, Co-Chairman
 * Shawn Mitchell, DMD, Vice Chairman (info)
 * Gil Amelio, Ph.D., Finance Chairman and Systems Strategist
 * Eric M. Jackson, Outreach and Web Guru
 * Jerome R. Corsi, Ph.D., Senior Political Strategist
 * Shannon Royce, Esq., Washington Director
 * Kellyanne Conway, J.D., Research Director and Senior Political Strategist
 * Thomas Dodd, Strategic Partnerships Director
 * Nicholas Stehle, Information Technology and Policy Director
 * Cleta Mitchell, Esq., General Counsel

Board of Advisors
The Vanguard.Org board of advisors includes (biographical links on page):


 * Dr. Carole Adams, Foundation for American Christian Education
 * Dr. Gil Amelio, Former CEO, Apple Computer and National Semiconductor (bio)
 * Ernst Bauer, Heimstra Product Development
 * Joel Belz, Founder and Publisher, World Magazine
 * James C. Czirr, President and CEO, Minerva Biotechnologies
 * Bobby Greenberg, Founding President, Semiconductor Equipment and Materials Institute (SEMI), North America
 * Hon. Bryan Hughes, Texas House of Representatives
 * Eric M. Jackson, President and CEO, World Ahead Publishing (bio)
 * Wayne Johnson, President, JohnsonClark Associates
 * Keet Lewis, Chairman, Lewis Group International
 * Walt Longyear, Fundraising Pioneer; Former Vice President, The Leadership Institute
 * Grover Norquist, Founder and President, Americans for Tax Reform
 * Dr. Marvin Olasky, Father of "Compassionate Conservatism"
 * Jane Russell, Actress and Activist
 * Alan E. Sears, Esq., President, Alliance Defense Fund
 * Dr. Jack Wheeler, Architect of the Reagan Doctrine

Former Personnel
The following were previously listed as members of the organization's staff or advisory board (it is not clear whether these were employed by TheVanguard.Org or by Vanguard PAC):


 * Frank Beard, Senior Editor
 * Amy Bedsole, Assistant to the Chairman
 * John M. Hallman, Florida State Director
 * Richard Poe, Editorial Director
 * Tim Pope, Grassroots Director
 * Paul Pressler, Advisory Board - NOTE: Pressler spearheaded the rightwing takeover of the Southern Baptist Convention
 * Peter Thiel, Advisory Board - NOTE: Thiel founded PayPal and is on the board of Facebook.

Contact Information
1099 Forest Lake Niceville, Florida 32578 Phone: 850 729-0401 FAX: 501 421-9720 Email: Vanguard AT TheVanguard.Org
 * Website: http://www.thevanguard.org (Web address dates to May 1998.)
 * Weblog: http://blog.thevanguard.org/ (Archives dates to March 2005.)
 * Website: http://archermartin.thevanguard.org/ (Website of Rod Martin's son, Archer Martin. Archives dates to December 2006.)
 * Website: http://davidjeffers.thevanguard.org/ (Website of David Jeffers. Archives dates to December 2006.)
 * Weblog: http://techblog.thevanguard.org/ (Archives dates to October 2005.)

Note: The mailing address was found for Rod D. Martin on the Republican National Lawyers Association website and posted by ArriveNet.com, which also provides article links dating to June 1, 2004.

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