Daily News

Millionaire not afraid to flex political muscle

JIM MORRILL

jmorrill@charlotteobserver.com

RALEIGH - North Carolina’s most influential Republican is a balding policy wonk, a former back-bench lawmaker who lost his only bid for statewide office.

But Art Pope has two things going for him — money and a mission.

The multimillionaire businessman flexed his muscle this month by investing $186,000 of his company’s money to defeat the state’s top-ranked Republican lawmaker and allies who bucked GOP leaders. Three lost their primaries.

On a broader level, Pope has redefined N.C. politics by creating — and funding — a network of conservative think tanks and other groups infused with his free-market approach to policy and government. They’ve made their mark in ways big and small.

Pope’s legal arm took the new state lottery to court. An expose by the Pope-funded John Locke Foundation helped send a congressman to prison. The foundation’s director shares opinions on everything from schools to politics as a pundit on statewide TV.

"What Art has done is to create some institutions at the intersection of the press and politics," says Ferrel Guillory, who heads the Southern politics program at UNC Chapel Hill. "Clearly he’s had an influence on the dialogue in this state. And clearly they’ve been aggressive and effective."

Pope, 50, says his efforts contribute to "a broad-based public debate." Critics say he uses his network to steer state policies to the right and squeezes Republican lawmakers into a straight-jacket of conformity.

Chris Fitzsimon, executive director of the liberal N.C. Policy Watch, describes the Pope network as a "growing propaganda machine" espousing ideas "that actually threaten the quality of life."

This month Pope made headlines not through ideas but raw politics. (more…)

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