Since the inception of Freedom’s Watch, I have received countless words of encouragement and support from conservatives across the nation – influential elected officials, prominent business leaders, and ordinary Americans whose day-to-day contributions to this nation are anything but ordinary. This outpouring has validated for me what I already knew: there is a very real and pronounced desire among conservatives for a well-funded, vocal and effective organization that can help shape and influence the critical public policy debates of the day.

Eight months ago, Freedom’s Watch hit the ground running, and today we continue to grow and expand.  It is against this backdrop that I have decided to transition from my current responsibilities.  I felt it was important to share with all of you that I have resigned from the position of President and CEO, but I will continue to be involved with Freedom’s Watch and support the organization’s mission and ongoing efforts. In short, I accomplished what I set out to do, and now it is time to pass the torch.

I feel tremendously privileged to have been given the opportunity to lead Freedom’s Watch from the days in which this organization was little more than a bold idea, to today, when we are on the radar of virtually every liberal special interest and activist in the country.

In less than a year, we’ve succeeded in helping shape public opinion on the mission in Iraq at a very critical juncture. Last year, only 39 percent of Americans agreed U.S. troops should remain in Iraq until the security situation was stabilized, and liberals were on the cusp of forcing a premature and irresponsible withdrawal from Iraq. Thanks to the leadership of General Petraeus, the valiant efforts of our troops, and your generous support, we have succeeded in making the incontrovertible case that we are winning in Iraq and that victory remains our only option. Today, according to the Pew Research Center, 53 percent of Americans believe our troops will succeed in Iraq.

Freedom’s Watch stood with our troops when liberals took out a full page ad in the New York Times that accused General Petraeus of being a traitor to this country. As a result, liberal politicians in Washington who refused to condemn the ad were forced to repudiate MoveOn.org, adding to that group’s growing credibility problem.

We’ve established Freedom’s Watch as a powerful voice for conservative values locally and nationally. And our involvement in public policy and political debates in the coming months will continue to grow substantially.

In the coming days and weeks, I will remain with Freedom’s Watch in an advisory role as we work to transition to a new president. The leadership of Freedom’s Watch will remain as engaged in operations as they have been since the beginning, and this organization will not skip a beat during this transitional phase.

It is my hope that my successor will be welcomed by you with the same level of support and encouragement that you have afforded me. Freedom’s Watch truly is an organization worthy of your support. It has, and will continue to have mine.

With kind regards,

Bradley Blakeman