when they shop at his stores. At the same time, North Carolina's Food Lion chain is being boycotted by anti-LGBT activists for their ongoing support for LGBT rights.

The Institute for Southern Studies JUST launched a new investigative project some BlueNC readers might find interesting, based on our work on Pope over the last year: www.ArtPopeExposed.com.

The project will track the money, people and agenda driving Pope's network. Would love to hear your feedback and ideas.

- Chris

www.ArtPopeExposed.com
twitter.com/ArtPopeExposed

I'm psyched to see your message breaking through, finally! Whether it was your words verbatim or not, it was your message breaking through, and that's awesome.

I am very proud to be a part of an organization that was a part of that article too! (emphasis added below)

For years, Pope, like several other farsighted conservative corporate activists, has been spending millions in an attempt to change the direction of American politics. According to an analysis of tax records by Democracy NC, a progressive government watchdog group, in the past decade Pope, his family, his family foundation, and his business have spent more than forty million dollars in this effort

Read more http://www.newyorker.com/reporting/2011/10/10/111010fa_fact_mayer#ixzz1ZlVvz4yD

The Pope family foundation has provided more than ninety-seven per cent of the Civitas Institute’s funding since it was founded—more than eight million dollars. Pope sits on its board of directors. Civitas underwrites polls on issues of the day—posing questions that critics have called biased—and disseminates its findings in order to support right-wing arguments. These polls save conservative candidates a lot of expense. “Civitas was clever,” Bob Hall, the executive director of Democracy NC, the progressive watchdog group, says. “It takes campaign expenses—like polling, message development, and voter-turnout analysis—and makes them tax-deductible.”

Read more http://www.newyorker.com/reporting/2011/10/10/111010fa_fact_mayer#ixzz1ZlWfjVT6

Bob Hall, the Democracy North Carolina director, sees Pope’s involvement in education as part of a long-term strategy. “It’s about how you shape the future,” Hall says. “It’s one thing to build a building, another to shape a generation’s minds. That’s what they’re after—ideology. Pope is pushing a world view, not just a business deal.” Hall notes that, because the state legislature appoints the university trustees, “Pope’s got trustee influence now, too.” In fact, the General Assembly recently placed Fred Eshelman, the founding director of Real Jobs NC, on the university system’s board of governors. The husband of another Pope functionary, meanwhile, was just appointed to the state’s public-television board.

Read more http://www.newyorker.com/reporting/2011/10/10/111010fa_fact_mayer#ixzz1ZlWqMhtt

I normally don't link to his ranting, but this one is especially sad and embarassing:

Still, as hit pieces go, the New Yorker story turned out to be a bit of a dud. It was mostly a rehash of attacks previously lodged against Art and the conservative movement in North Carolina by a gaggle of left-wing activists funded and controlled by the Z. Smith Reynolds Foundation.

I'm sure you would prefer there was some sort of "statute of limitations" on reporting bad political behavior, but there's not. That said, if Art Pope had backed off from his influence-buying practices, we probably wouldn't be having this conversation right now. But like any spoiled brat who does what he wants, the behavior has only gotten worse.

And just to say it, your (and Pope's) biggest and most effective critic isn't funded or controlled by Z. Smith or any other institution; he's only controlled by his own sense of right and wrong, and his name is James.