To the Editor:

With the advent of the election season, my mailbox and my sensitivities are being assailed by political pronouncements and advertisements infinitum. If I don’t want to see and hear them on the television, I can just cut it off or at least curtail my viewing. Unfortunately, I also get multiple flyers in my mailbox touting the virtues of certain candidates and listing the negative aspects (usually spurious) of their opponents. Thus it is with the flyers that I receive on a regular basis from the North Carolina Republican Party espousing the virtues of Sen. Jim Davis, R-Franklin, and denigrating both Jane Hipps and Hillary Clinton.

These flyers are reminiscent of the ones that were sent out when Davis first ran for the North Carolina Senate, only at that time they were mailed by Real Jobs North Carolina. The money for these mailings came from Art Pope of the Pope Foundation and Glen Raven Mills. You might note that Art Pope pumped millions of dollars into the North Carolina elections that year to get both Davis and Pat McCrory, as well as others elected. Mr. Pope was well rewarded by being named the Director of the State Budget by Gov. McCrory.  

You might also wish to note that Glen Raven Mills was the last holdout to unionization in the textile industry in North Carolina. When the workers finally formed a union, the company promptly shut their manufacturing doors in the state and moved the operation to China. I do believe they maintain corporate headquarters in North Carolina in order to benefit from the favorable corporate tax laws that are supported by Gov. McCrory, Davis, and the Republican-controlled legislature.

Several weeks ago I wrote a letter to the North Carolina Republican Party (1506 Hillsborough Street, Raleigh, N.C., 27605) requesting that I be removed from their mailing list. I explained that my wife is a registered Democrat, and that I, though registered as non-affiliated, would vote for Davis under no circumstances. I believe that my exact wording was that I wouldn’t vote for Mr. Davis if they paid me, which they apparently were attempting to do considering all of the flyers and the cost of the postage of the same that was wasted by sending this material to our household.  

In fact, I believe I described Mr. Davis in terms that cannot be printed in your paper. The mailings continue to arrive. Does the North Carolina Republican Party not read it’s mail, or is it too ignorant to understand the meaning of the word no? It may very well be the latter considering the Republican Party doubling down on House Bill 2 rather than listening to the people and the businesses in the North Carolina.

I am now beginning to receive flyers for the reelection of Sen. Richard Burr sent by One Nation (P.O. Box 34424, Washington, D.C. 20043), whoever that is. At least his flyers, so far, have not gone negative, but I don’t need these either.

Luther Jones

Sylva