Spinning in snake oil

It's always amusing to watch purveyors of non-profit snake-oil when they're moving in to sell their voodoo. First they shuck and jive, telling you they really don't really like having to ask for your money. Then they hem and haw, building a pretty house of cards to capture your fancy. And finally they close, promising that anyone wise enough to part with their cash will be joining a long and illustrious list of donors.

If you've never seen this kind of scamming for yourself, you have a rare chance today over at the Carolina Journal, where John Hood puts on the squeeze for all to behold.

Because it can be hard to describe what a “think tank” is in a brief discussion or fundraising letter, most think tanks fund their operations by soliciting relatively large grants from charitable foundations, corporations, and civic-minded individuals. JLF is no different in that regard. While the bulk of our annual budget comes from about a dozen large donors – including philanthropies such as the E.A. Morris Charitable Foundation and the John William Pope Foundation and corporations such as BB&T and Captive-Aire – we also raise hundreds of thousands of dollars a year through personal, mail, and online appeals to North Carolinians giving amounts averaging less than $100 a year. Indeed, JLF had about 1,700 donors last year, spread across the state from the mountains to the coast. (Emphasis added.)

But before you open your wallet and give generously, you might want to do a little due diligence. Here is what you'll find:

In 2005, the Puppetshow reported contributions of $2,016.444. Of that total, $1,696,142 came from the John W. Pope Foundation (aka, the Puppetmaster).

A more understanding observer might write this stretching of reality off to good old-fashioned spinning. But from where I write, it's just one more example of the kind of intellectual dishonesty we've come to expect from John Hood and the Art Pope Puppetshow. The fact is, no other donor gave more than $55,000 last year. Which means that the bulk of the Puppetshow's funding came from one, single source: Art Pope.

I can see why Hood doesn't want to admit this harsh reality. Pope has more money than god and could easily fund enough free-market opinion-manufacturing to fill the pages of the News and Observer all by himself. But that would require looking in the mirror and recognizing that the John Locke Foundation is nothing more than Art Pope's ego at play.

A

PS Someone told me recently that they know Art Pope well. They said he's a very bright guy, a hard worker, and fair-minded in his dealings with people. I was glad to hear that. Too bad he's directing all his energy and competence into the destruction of excellence in public service.