Need proof that Billionaires bought themselves some complete state governments?

The Institute for Southern Studies released a report this week about how Art Pope used his fortune to buy the state's Republican Party and then leverage that into an anti-democracy neo-fascist jihad. Their investigation found that Pope played several critical but largely behind-the-scenes roles in advancing the state's new voting restrictions

1. Pope's ideological network ginned up fear of voter fraud.
In 2012, North Carolina voters cast nearly 7 million ballots, and only 121 alleged cases of voter fraud were found, a grand total of 80 cases of double voting, three cases involving voter residency issues, and two cases of voter impersonation, which is what the state's new photo ID law aims to prevent.

2. Pope's ideological network gave a platform to voting restriction extremism.
Both the John Locke Foundation and Civitas Institute have prominently featured the work of Jay DeLancy, an avowed anti immigration advocate, and his group the Voter Integrity Project of NC (VIP-NC), which has been involved in controversial efforts to kick people off the voting rolls.

3. Pope supported key GOP lawmakers involved in advancing voting restrictions.
House Bill 589, the elections bill that the North Carolina legislature passed this year, was originally introduced in April by four primary sponsors, all Republicans. Two of them-- Reps. Harry Warren of Rowan County and Tom Murry of Wake County both got generous support in launching their political careers from Pope, his family, and his network of political spending groups; to the tune of nearly $450,000

4. Pope helped Republicans win control of state government.
As Facing South has documented, Pope, his family, his company, and the network of outside political groups he's affiliated with-- Americans for Prosperity, Civitas Action, and Real Jobs NC-- spent a total of over $2.2 million in the 2010 election cycle to elect Republican state lawmakers, helping give the party control of both the state House and Senate for the first time since Reconstruction. Those wins also put Republicans in control of drawing new political lines, with Pope serving as an adviser to the redistricting process and further consolidating GOP control of state government.

In 2012 alone, the neo-fascist Koch Bros. front group, Americans for Prosperity, spent $33,542,051 on broadcast ads smearing Democrats. Pope was one of the biggest single donors to the shadowy group that doesn't reveal contributors. Sometimes donations leak out, like one from Pope on November 21, 2011 for $500,000 an d another for $500,000 on the same day!. And another one for a mere $100,000 on that November day as well. In fact on November 21, 2011, Pope gave $1,350,000 to Americans for Prosperity. The two biggest targets of their smears were Barack Obama and Tammy Baldwin-- around $36,000,000 combined-- and both won comfortable victories. The state of North Carolina, it turns out, was far easier to pick off.

And for this the Governor, who is a wholly owned subsidiary of Pope, appointed Pope as budget director for the state..... Democracy is dead in the Red States!
Welcome to the Oligarchy!