As someone who has followed the various organizations led by Art Pope, I found his comments and characterizations in his letter to the editor Sept. 8 responding to Steve Ford's Sept. 5 column quite interesting.
Ford referred to "the ubiquitous Art Pope," which seems appropriate in light of the broad array of advocacy entities encompassing the Pope organization. Pope in his letter described the Civitas Institute and the John Locke Foundation as "nonpartisan independent public policy organizations." History reveals both are right-wing agenda-driven entities funded by the Pope family and its acolytes. They are quick to label anyone who disagrees with their view as "liberal and left wing."
As recently as this past week, Jane Shaw, president of the Pope Center for Higher Education Policy, accused the newly selected president of the UNC system, Tom Ross, of being "an insider and a member of the North Carolina Democratic Party." Allegedly, while Ross was head of the Z. Smith Reynolds Foundation, the foundation approved grants to abortion rights groups.
