Politics

Liberty.com seeks to combine conservative news and activism

Alex Pappas Political Reporter
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When Liberty.com launches next month, it plans to be a one-stop shop for conservative activists who not only want news, but desire to become a part of the stories they’re reading.

“No one else is doing what we’re doing, which is combining news and activism,” said Yates Walker, a spokesman for the new site that plans to launch Sept. 1. “We’re not covering stories like the AP. We’re covering them from a conservative perspective and keeping our members vigilant and engaged.”

Walker said the website — whose mission statement includes keeping “the right honest, the press nervous and the left unpopular and out of power” — wants to rival the left’s MoveOn.org in terms of energizing activists.

“One of the ways in which MoveOn.org has been so effective is that they make an enemy…they point to some calamity and say, ‘this is what we need to do to fix it,’” he said. “And as wrong as they are, they move a lot of people. That’s exactly what we’re gonna do.”

The website will include daily blogcasts, as well as video webcasts from its in-house broadcast studio in Las Vegas. A group of bloggers will provide exclusive content, and the site will aggregate news stories from other news organizations. As for original reporting, Walker’s connections with campaigns across the country will lead to tips. “We have ears everywhere,” he said.

A key organizer of the effort is well-known Tea Party organizer Eric Odom, who is bringing over 70,000 members from his existing groups to Liberty.com.

Liberty.com’s parent organization, Americans for New Leadership, has already purchased a $300,000 ad against Democratic Sen. Harry Reid, the Senate majority leader, in Nevada. Reid is currently in the midst of heated re-election battle against Republican Sharron Angle. Walker noted that Angle was down seven points before the ad was released, and now the race has tightened. “We’re not taking complete credit for that, but it definitely played a part,” he said.

Walker says more than 88,000 activists are now part of their effort, and they hope to hit 100,000 members before the site’s September launch.