civitas institute
November 14, 2013 -
The State Policy Network -- a national alliance of right-wing think tanks funded by businessmen including the Kochs of Koch Industries, the Waltons of Wal-Mart, and Art Pope of Variety Stores -- is driving a corporate agenda in state legislatures. So why they aren't reporting their lobbying activities?
October 25, 2013 -
In an interview with The Daily Show about North Carolina's restrictive new voting law, the Republican Party precinct chair made a number of racially charged remarks. The GOP scrambled to distance itself from him, but his ideas about the law follow the party line.
October 9, 2013 -
Under fire for using his personal fortune to buy elections, North Carolina's leading conservative financier denies giving money to super PACs -- but campaign finance watchdogs say his denial amounts to playing word games while he's building a "government of the obscenely rich, by the obscenely rich, and for the obscenely rich."
September 11, 2013 -
Plaintiffs suing over North Carolina's controversial new elections law have notified the Civitas Institute -- a conservative think tank founded and largely funded by Republican mega-donor Art Pope, now state budget director -- to preserve documents and other records related to the legislation.
August 29, 2013 -
The conservative mega-donor, now the state budget director, played important but behind-the-scenes roles in the passage of one of the nation's most restrictive voting laws, from ginning up fear of voter fraud to backing politicians who fought for voting restrictions.
July 8, 2013 -
With another Moral Monday protest getting underway at the North Carolina General Assembly, a group affiliated with the tea party movement offers a satirical song for the occasion titled "Marxist Mondays."
June 28, 2013 -
A website publicizing details about people arrested in nonviolent protests at the N.C. legislature expanded this week to include salaries of arrestees who are public workers -- and suffered a setback when local officials said they'd no longer take arrestees' mugshots. Meanwhile, private data-gathering efforts in another state are generating controversy over their use for political retaliation.
