Art Pope is now Pope of the North Carolina Republican Party.

By engineering the defeats of Reps. Richard Morgan and Rick Eddins, Pope made himself Supreme Pontiff, Enforcer of Orthodoxy and All-Powerful Exorcist of Heretics.

I believe that bodes ill for Democrats this November.

Pope showed that he has the money – and can buy the skill – to overwhelm election opponents. And he is willing to spend the money.

Some of my Republican friends didn’t think Pope could get away with calling Eddins a Democrat. Ridiculous, they scoffed.

But it worked.

Pope’s strategy was to tie his rivals to scandal-plagued Speaker Jim Black. Look for the same line of attack against Democrats this fall.

For months now, Democrats have been enjoying the split among Republicans. It’s time to stop enjoying and start figuring out how to fight back.