Uncle Art?
A few weeks back, during a news conference, Jim Black referred to former Rep. Art Pope as "Uncle Art." Pope is has a lot of money and has spent a lot of it building a conservative infrastructure in North Carolina, helping to unseat a key ally of Black and generally creating problems for the state's Democrats. Step out of line, Black warned, and “Uncle Art is going to get you.”
As soon as Black said it, I thought to myself that it was a moniker custom made for editorialists and political cartoonists. It was, I thought, a bid to make Art Pope the conservative boogieman that, well, Republicans are trying to make Black.
Well, Carter Wrenn over at Talking About Politics has a theory right up that alley:
The Democrats are going to make Pope the most unpopular man in North Carolina – on the theory that when they do voters are going to forget all about Jim Black.Look for State House hearings to investigate Pope and the ‘millions’ he’s spending on politics. Look for Pope, his friends, the heads of the different conservative organizations he funds (the Locke Foundation and Republican Legislature Majority Committee) and a bevy of political consultants to be called to testify. Look for a lot of digging into Pope’s company, Variety Wholesalers, Inc.
It's a short piece so go read the whole thing.