Puppetmaster

It seems like every time I turn around I'm adding new tags to keep track of the lunatic fringes of Puppetshow. Today I had to add Americans for Prosperity to the list, one more ugly face of the hydra that is the multi-million-dollar opinion-manufacturing machine funded by Art Pope.

Why today? Because today, Americans for Prosperity has decided to weigh in against the sane Wake County policy makers who voted to withhold judgment about raising the cap on charter schools.

The issue is a simple one: Government haters want to crush public schools out of existence over the long haul, so that eventually only rich white people will be able to afford an education. In the short term, they want to choke off school funding, thereby reducing traditional public schools to dysfunctional shells. Their plans call for siphoning off money into charter schools.

I personally have a great deal of hope for charter schools, but that hope has not yet been anywhere near fulfilled. I'm aware of NO evidence that charter schools perform any better than public schools ... nor does there appear to be a workable model in place for managing a significant increase in their number.

Under normal circumstances I wouldn't be opposed to using a picture of Dr. Weird for any occasion... but I saw this little tidbit on the Asheville Citizen-Times' website this morning and noticed that the Puppetmaster was sending a little bit of Taco Island our way next week...

General turned Fox News pundit to speak

by STAFF REPORTS
published September 15, 2006 10:48 am

ASHEVILLE – A retired Air Force commander and Fox News military analyst is the guest at an Asheville luncheon next week.

The John Locke Foundation, a conservative Raleigh-based think-tank, is bringing Lt. Gen. Thomas McInerney to Tuesday's noon event.

The co-author of the book "Endgame: The Blueprint for the Victory in the War on Terror" will speak about that blueprint at the Renaissance Asheville Hotel.

Cost is $25 including lunch.

When the Stagemanager at the John Locke Foundation isn't running his "multi-million-dollar opinion-manufacturing machine," he sometimes dabbles on other stages like this one where he tries to make the case that neocon pundits don't pay any attention to their patrons.

These pundits, he argues, are intellectually honest and would NEVER be bought or paid for by big donors.

At issue is a New York Times article that took rightwing opinionators to task for failing to disclose financial relationships with big-time contributors like WalMart. Hood's piece doesn't make much sense on its face, but on second reading, it's clear as a bell.

Imagine you're the Puppetmaster, sitting high up on your throne, watching the Little People scurring around, doing your bidding, carrying your water, licking your boots.

You raise your pinkie and presto, 4999 hate-filled mailings fly into Kinston, magically "educating" voters about the evils of compromise and common ground. You raise an eyebrow and POW, your pack of hungry lawyers slaps a lawsuit on some little guy who dared to question your infinite wisdom and awesome power.

You sit back and smile, your beady little eyes shifting in search of more rabble-rousers. You are on a mission to purify the planet, to restore the aristocracy, to celebrate the joys of having more money than sense. Life is good. You close your eyes. You rest.

"

According to Bubba and Damn Yankee, netizens of the always reliable Internets in Kinston, Art Pope, Puppetmaster-in-Chief of All Things Conservative, is filing charges against fellow Republican Steven LaRoque for defamation of character.

As you may recall, Mr. LaRoque had the gumption to critcize the Puppetmaster for bankrolling a direct mail campaign that helped Willie Ray Starling win the Republican primary for the House seat representing Kinston. Mr. Starling, a frequent lurker at BlueNC, appears to be an honest, god-fearing Theocrat who believes the good lord (or maybe the Puppetmaster) should call all the shots when it comes to North Carolina politics.

Dear Puppets.

I know you all must be giddy today. Your mission to turn the United States of America into USA, Inc., appears to be well on track.

First off, the Puppetmaster emerged victorious in Round 1 of the War on Democracy. The State Board of Elections has agreed that it's perfectly fine to sell North Carolina elections to white old rich men who lie under oath (to the best of my knowledge) and who can pay enough lawyers to obfuscate, delay, and misdirect honest discovery. Until Round 1 is overturned on appeal, "For Sale - Cheap" will be the order of the day when it comes to North Carolina electoral politics.

UPDATE: Link to WRAL coverage

Lawyers, journalists and all manner of Puppets will be descending on Raleigh today for what could be one of the most important hearings ever conducted by the State Board of Elections (SBOE). At issue is whether North Carolina will be a state in which elections are contaminated by the free flow of corporate money.

Rob Christensen in today's N&O does a decent job covering some of the issues that will be aired over the next two or three days.

THE ACCUSER: [Richard] Morgan is charging that he and his allies were picked off by a Raleigh millionaire who illegally used corporate contributions to oust Republican legislators with whom he disagrees.

THE ACCUSED: Several groups connected to former state Rep. Art Pope, a Raleigh retail executive, spent hundreds of thousands of dollars criticizing Republican House members who allied themselves on some issues with Democrats. Pope says his company's donations were legal.

People who are actively involved in North Carolina politics often find themselves in the Twilight Zone of wacko mailing lists. My significant other, who used to be chair of the faculty at UNC-Chapel Hill, is one such person. Which might explain why she’s lucky enough to receive her very own copy of Conservative Citizen, published several times a year by the John William Pope Civitas Institute.

For those interested in the inside scoop on the GOP's plans for November, one of the newest Puppets lays it out for all to see. The gameplan comes to us via Willie Ray Starling, hand-picked by Republicans for a Legislative Majority, Inc., in the 10th district (Kinston). This is from his website.

Here are the four points the Republicans will hammer home starting after Labor Day:

Rhetoric on the role of corporate money in legislative races heated up again yesterday, when Stephen LaRoque, toppled in May with the help of Art Pope's corporate largesse, had some tough words for the Puppetmaster.

"We will address those lies and half truths," said LaRoque. "We will expose Willie Ray Starling for being the puppet of Art Pope that he is."