1/ A year ago, I was examining North Carolina’s budget when two unusual items caught my attention–spurring an investigation that reveals how political and religious favoritism by lawmakers can harm some of society’s most vulnerable people. #ncpol @propublica.org www.propublica.org/article/nort... - ThreadSky

dougbockclark.bsky.social • 64 days ago

1/ A year ago, I was examining North Carolina’s budget when two unusual items caught my attention–spurring an investigation that reveals how political and religious favoritism by lawmakers can harm some of society’s most vulnerable people. #ncpol @propublica.org

https://www.propublica.org/article/north-carolina-legislature-power-grab-sexual-abuse-survivors

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nwinsborough.bsky.social•64 days ago

The GOP is pro-rape

dougbockclark.bsky.social•64 days ago

2/ I’d noticed that two organizations had been singled out by name to receive over $1 million. One had not reported taxable income or activity since 2016, when it had $28,006 in revenue. The other had been created just two months before lawmakers named it in their budget bill.

dougbockclark.bsky.social•64 days ago

3/ That organization had also been created by the former leader of the NC GOP. Why, I wondered, had the Republican legislators sent so much money to a group chaired by the former leader of their party, who had no record of serving victims of sexual violence?

dougbockclark.bsky.social•64 days ago

4/ I dug into who’d been behind that part of the budget and found it was primarily GOP senator Ted Alexander. He has said that he wanted to secure funding for those and other organizations because he was concerned that Christian groups had too few resources.

https://www.ncleg.gov/Members/Biography/S/416

dougbockclark.bsky.social•64 days ago

5/ “You look at these other groups, like Planned Parenthood, and… money just pours in on those groups, and it makes me sick,” Alexander said during a 2023 speech. “So we Christians, we’ve got to be able to support these kinds of organizations” that are “doing the Lord’s work.” https://tinyurl.com/56pmrm56

dougbockclark.bsky.social•64 days ago

6/ That $1 million was part of a greater infusion of money by Alexander and other GOP politicians. Over $28 million had been sent to an obscure commission within the Republican-controlled court system, which previously had a $250,000 budget and only two staff.

dougbockclark.bsky.social•64 days ago

7/ The Legislature had redirected to the obscure Republican-led commission $15 million in funding, though Democrat-controlled agencies had long effectively administered such funds for victims of sexual violence.

jkmthacker.bsky.social•48 days ago

Great reporting on issues #NC and the country need to hear about-thanks!

pambca.bsky.social•64 days ago

Cronyism at its finest. This makes me sick to think of how many people didn’t get the help they needed because of the favoritism.

tarynj19.bsky.social•64 days ago

At every level, politics is a grift...those in supposed power are not serving the people, just raiding the governmental bank accounts to enrich themselves!

rubyoffrails.bsky.social•64 days ago

This is great reporting, but I’m unclear about the source of the funding. Is it federal (vawa, voca, etc.) or state?

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