While everyone is watching Washington and Wisconsin, we need to keep our eyes out here in North Carolina as well…
The rich are trying to buy North Carolina as well…
This is not a coincidence…
Former legislator, millionaire, political insider, Art Pope is a public figure and one of the most powerful people in North Carolina.
This project of the Independent Weekly and Facing South, the online magazine of the Institute for Southern Studies, analyzes both the extent of Pope’s influence and its ramifications for public policy.
In short, Pope and the organizations he finances are shaping how North Carolinians live. As Chris Kromm reports, the Pope family—through the John William Pope Foundation—has been funneling millions of dollars into a network of conservative research, media and legal centers. Pope’s groups have larger ambitions to shift public opinion and the political debate toward a pro-business, anti-government agenda.
That’s being played out in the Republican-dominated Legislature. Those lawmakers and their regressive agenda for social services, education, the environment and tax policy are brought to you largely by Pope and Pope-backed groups.
We’ve also scrutinized the Pope Foundation’s tax documents and found that, despite his groups’ persistent calls for public accountability, the foundation itself failed to file timely tax returns for eight years. Pope’s excuses? Hurricane Fran. Single fatherhood. For eight years.
via Absolute power: An examination of Art Pope’s dominance | News Feature | Independent Weekly.
Lost in the 21st Century 