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Protests Aim at One Man Who Moved North Carolina to the Right
http://mobile.nytimes.com/2013/12/14/us/protests-aim-at-one-man-who-moved-state-to-right.html?pagewanted=allBy TRIP GABRIEL
December 13, 2013
CHARLOTTE, N.C. — Inside a Roses discount store, glass ornaments were $3 a pack and a toy train meant to delight on Christmas was $10.
Outside, protesters were in a far less festive mood. They accused the owner of the discount chain, Art Pope, the state budget director, of bankrolling conservative candidates and supporting policies that hurt the store’s poor and minority shoppers.
“It may appear he’s contributing to the community because he has a business,” the Rev. Kojo Nantambu, the local N.A.A.C.P. president, said on Wednesday. “But those are only vehicles to be used to destroy the community.”
Liberal groups that thronged North Carolina’s Capitol over the summer to protest the General Assembly’s abrupt rightward swing are trying to keep the momentum going with holiday pickets at Mr. Pope’s stores across the state. More than a dozen are planned in coming days, including five this weekend.
Often called North Carolina’s equivalent of the billionaire Koch brothers, Mr. Pope has used a family fortune to endow conservative research groups and donate to tax-exempt organizations that unseated Republican moderates as well as Democrats. Gov. Pat McCrory, after becoming the first Republican to capture the executive mansion in 20 years, appointed him budget director last year.
..more..
7 replies
= new reply since forum marked as read
= new reply since forum marked as read
Fuck him. There's a reason NC voters rejected him when he ran for office.
Responding to critics, Art Pope 'shocked' by picket protest
http://www.newsobserver.com/2013/12/09/3447533/responding-to-critics-pope-shocked.html#storylink=cpy
http://www.newsobserver.com/2013/12/09/3447533/responding-to-critics-pope-shocked.html#storylink=cpy
See this post:
http://www.democraticunderground.com/10694209
A Media Guide To The Right-Wing Agenda Of North Carolina's Civitas Institute
Newly released documents have exposed the agenda of the conservative North Carolina-based J.W. Pope Civitas Institute showing that the organization is seeking funds to engage in a campaign to decimate Medicaid funding in the state. North Carolina media should take care to disclose these revelations to ensure readers know what's really behind the Civitas Institute's forthcoming Medicaid attacks.
On December 5, The Guardian released documents noting that conservative groups across the United States "are planning a co-ordinated assault against public sector rights and services in key areas of education, healthcare, income tax, workers' compensation and the environment." The Guardian explained that the "proposals were co-ordinated by the State Policy Network, an alliance of groups that act as incubators of conservative strategy at state level." Indeed, according to a report by the Center for Media and Democracy, the State Policy Network (SPN) and its member organizations "work together in coordinated efforts to push their agenda, often using the same cookie-cutter research and reports, all while claiming to be independent and creating state-focused solutions that purportedly advance the interests or traditions of the state." The report added:
Among the groups cited in the Guardian papers was the Civitas Institute. The organization requested funding for a campaign to try to sway politicians into reducing the amount of money North Carolina gives to the state's Medicaid program, which it characterized as "failed," and if successful, export their messaging to other SPN affiliates around the country:
Newly released documents have exposed the agenda of the conservative North Carolina-based J.W. Pope Civitas Institute showing that the organization is seeking funds to engage in a campaign to decimate Medicaid funding in the state. North Carolina media should take care to disclose these revelations to ensure readers know what's really behind the Civitas Institute's forthcoming Medicaid attacks.
On December 5, The Guardian released documents noting that conservative groups across the United States "are planning a co-ordinated assault against public sector rights and services in key areas of education, healthcare, income tax, workers' compensation and the environment." The Guardian explained that the "proposals were co-ordinated by the State Policy Network, an alliance of groups that act as incubators of conservative strategy at state level." Indeed, according to a report by the Center for Media and Democracy, the State Policy Network (SPN) and its member organizations "work together in coordinated efforts to push their agenda, often using the same cookie-cutter research and reports, all while claiming to be independent and creating state-focused solutions that purportedly advance the interests or traditions of the state." The report added:
Although many of SPN's member organizations claim to be nonpartisan and independent, our in-depth investigation reveals that SPN and its member think tanks are major drivers of the right-wing, ALEC-backed agenda in state houses nationwide, with deep ties to the Koch brothers and the national right-wing network of funders, all while reporting little or no lobbying activities.
Among the groups cited in the Guardian papers was the Civitas Institute. The organization requested funding for a campaign to try to sway politicians into reducing the amount of money North Carolina gives to the state's Medicaid program, which it characterized as "failed," and if successful, export their messaging to other SPN affiliates around the country:
THE REST:
http://mediamatters.org/blog/2013/12/12/a-media-guide-to-the-right-wing-agenda-of-north/197250
Last edited Sun Dec 15, 2013, 01:21 PM - Edit history (1)
NYT writer does add Fox & Friends "fair and balanced"
HA!) at the end as snark...but all in all a great read about actions NC'linians are taking to roll back ALEC/KOCH/POPE agenda and taking over of our State.
NC Activists along with "Common Cause" are working on getting rid of the Gerrymandering. Not in time for the 2014 Vote...but, hopefully by 2016. There are lawsuits in the works from the DOJ...but not until 2015 will there be any hearings, it seems from the latest reports. Wish this could have been started in 2010..but better late than never.
From the last paragraphs of NYT Article showing the effects of ALEC when our state Dem Party was in disarray in 2010:
the reaction embodied the challenge that the left faces: as the economy improves and voters feel more secure in their jobs, largely because of national factors, antipathies toward the governor and legislature are likely to fade.
And even if the summer’s backlash carries into 2014, Democrats confront a brutal electoral map. The Republican majority in the General Assembly redrew district lines after the 2010 census to reinforce its grip through safe seats.
In the 2012 election, Republicans won about 52 percent of votes in State House races and 51 percent in State Senate races, according to an analysis by the Atlas Project. But because of the way districts were carved up, Republicans captured two-thirds of the seats in the legislature. Only a handful of seats are considered competitive between the parties.
And even if the summer’s backlash carries into 2014, Democrats confront a brutal electoral map. The Republican majority in the General Assembly redrew district lines after the 2010 census to reinforce its grip through safe seats.
In the 2012 election, Republicans won about 52 percent of votes in State House races and 51 percent in State Senate races, according to an analysis by the Atlas Project. But because of the way districts were carved up, Republicans captured two-thirds of the seats in the legislature. Only a handful of seats are considered competitive between the parties.