To the Editor:

In reply to Shirley Slaughter’s letter of Oct. 19 in The Smoky Mountain News (www.smokymountainnews.com/news/item/5374), I don’t think the N.C. Republicans need any help from The New Yorker to discredit themselves because they’ve accomplished that objective pretty well on their own.

Sometimes it’s difficult, Ms. Slaughter, to examine ourselves as others see us. The article by Jane Mayer, “State for Sale,” was unflattering to say the least. But it offered a fair interpretation of North Carolina’s political modus operandi (Republican style).

Obviously The New Yorker writer did her homework.   If my understanding of the word “smear” is close to accurate, the campaign Jim Davis waged to unseat John Snow epitomized the performance. The flyers sent by the N.C. Republican Party (which Sen. Jim Davis unbelievably denied responsibility for) were in extremely poor taste, outrageously offensive and framed a picture of John Snow that was blatantly untrue.

Whether it’s Art Pope’s money buying influence for Republicans or George Soros’ buying it for the Democrats or multinational corporations buying it for both, Americans are well aware of the enormous and destructive impact money has on our electoral system.

Subsequently, the editor of the SMN was precisely correct that voters should make every effort to stay informed, and knowing who is pulling the financial strings is very much a part of that responsibility.

David L. Snell

Dillsboro