UNC President, that is. The man himself gave an interview last night with TWC’s Tim Boyum. When asked if he had any plans to assume the helm of the UNC presidency, Pope said no, but would never “flat rule out an opportunity to serve the public.” Meaning that, if asked, he’d probably give it some serious consideration.
In the event that Pope becomes President of the UNC system, the wailing and gnashing of teeth from liberals in all corners of the state would be something to behold. “Moral Mondays” would probably expand to taking up the entire week, and we would be deluged with news stories about Pope’s sinister network.
Progressives, however, would be well-advised to take the spotlight off Pope as the election season approaches. The appointment of Pope could in fact prove to be something of a distraction to liberals. Instead of talking about health care, the economy, income inequality, and even education, they’ll be talking about a guy with whom most North Carolinians are unfamiliar. In short, the specter of Pope fires up the liberal base, but does nothing for the moderate middle that decides elections in North Carolina.
This is not just theory. NC progressives have been raging about Pope ever since the 2010 elections, with nothing to show for it. It’s similar to conservatives’ conspiracy theorizing about George Soros. Unable to comprehend that others don’t share their hatred for these figures, the tinfoil hat crowd thinks the solution is to get louder. Then, they lose and the cycle begins anew.
After the spectacular success of the Pope-bashing machine in North Carolina, liberals at the national level decided to take a page from their playbook and tried to make the 2014 elections a referendum on the Koch Brothers. The results? A Congress with more Republicans in it than any since 1928.
Liberals, then, should resist the temptation to make 2016 a referendum on Art Pope – at least when it comes to persuading swing voters. It doesn’t work. The reason why is there are too many steps involved. First, you have to educate people on who Art Pope is. Then, you have to convince people that he’s bad. Finally, you have convince them they should make their feelings about him the basis of their vote.
Instead, Democrats need to talk to voters about issues that matter and how it affects them. They need to keep their eye on the prize and not get caught up in a Soros/Koch/Pope/Benghazi/Alinsky-type hatefest. It would be a supreme irony if, by putting the spotlight on Pope and away from topics that resonate with voters, liberal groups collaborated in the continued GOP domination of North Carolina.
John Wynne is the “conservative voice” at PoliticsNC, where he also provides polling analysis and commentary on legislative campaigns. When not writing about politics, he enjoys gardening and listening to opera. Contact: johncwynne@gmail.com.
I’ve seen a lot of discussion about the prospect of Pope becoming UNC System president, but not much about what that — or the ascension of anyone who thinks like him — would actually mean in practical terms. Less horserace, more substance, please, because this matters.
We could reasonably expect Pope or his avatar to:
— Seek cuts in liberal-arts offerings, even though the liberal arts are clearly the best possible pre-professional education.
— Seek cuts in state support for the university system, with the savings passed on the wealthy through additional tax cuts for them and the expenses passed on to students, who, if they can attend at all, will be forced to borrow even more from … wealthy folks like Pope..
— False academic “balance,” potentially including science denialism.
And that’s on top of years of declining state financial support already.
That’s real, and real dangerous (and, in the case of state support, arguably a violation of the state constitution). More talk about this, please, and less about personalities.
Spot on, Lex!
Add to your list, replace state funding for universities with private corporate funding with the requirement that undergraduate general education curriculum decisions be taken out of the hands of academe in favor of corporate entities and free market think tanks.
I’m glad to see most of you aren’t off in left field about Pope, although I do think all this talk is a bit premature. Mr. Wynne is correct, most people don’t have a clue who Art Pope is and don’t care. They just want an affordable, quality education for their kids. But even you “progressives” must see the UNC system needs to be reformed. It’s way too expensive, it’s too monolithic, there are too many boondoggles (see Gene Nichol) and athletics (at least at one school) appear to lack oversight…to say the least. Ross wasn’t up for the job despite his supposed talents as an administrator.
Supreme, and delicious!
Fennebresque’s press conference to announce the firing of Ross was one of the worst ever. His discomfort was painfully obvious. Ross isn’t being shoved out for no reason – he’s being shoved out to make room for someone who is politically connected. Someone like Pope.
Pope as head of UNC BOG is a terrifying concept. The destruction of the UNC system would be devastating to the state. Show me ANY Pope quotes where he says something good about higher ed in UNC. In his role as NC budget director, he slashed the UNC system budget.
I do think it’s appropriate to raise flags against a possible Pope UNC presidential appointment, in other words do what’s already being done. But as for making it a campaign issue, that’s a bridge too far to see right now. A lot depends on what his toady McCrory does when the search results come in six months or so from now. .The general point about the need for Dems to stress issues over personalities is hugely important and absolutely true. Seems we are always playing catch-up defense while the RIght defines the issues.
You’re right, John (not sure if I’ve ever said that before about one of your blog)! Spending too much time railing against a Pope presidency from the start would be a waste of energy in trying to get the electorate’s attention first, then its anti-GOP vote second.
A better strategy would simply be to wait to see how well Pope might get the public’s attention, all by himself, due to how mistake-free or mistake-heavy he is in the job; due to any ideologically-driven directions he may take the 17-campus system; due to how hard he kowtows to the stridency of the Republican-heavy BoG (or, in reverse fashion, how hard he himself herds or tempers that BoG); due to how the image and reputation of the UNC system fares, especially when compared to other state systems in terms of academic freedom, funding, and public service, as well as the standing, presence, gravitas, intelligence, non-partisanship, and eloquence of its leader.
Yup, you are correct. No need for any early or separate efforts on the part of Dems, liberals or progressives were Pope to assume the post. What he will make of the system all by his lonesome will carry the day with voters, of this I am sure.