Noted expert on southern politics and North Carolina politics Chris Cooper’s newest book will ship later this fall, and with the General Election right around the corner, “Anatomy of a purple state” couldn’t come at a better time.

To the Editor:  

In a recent editorial a Western North Carolina minister says he doesn’t understand why some North Carolinians, who profess to be Christians, vote for a man who demonstrates again and again, that he respects no Christian principles.

To the Editor:  

You have done something rare in American politics putting the needs of the country above your own by ending your run for a second term.

Old-school campaigning is back in rural North Carolina, and this time it’s the Democrats leading the charge. 

In the 2020 election, North Carolina Democrats lost the presidential election by fewer than 75,000 votes and are looking to make up for those missed opportunities this election cycle by turning to old-fashioned door-to-door campaigning and hosting events in rural counties to connect with voters. 

To the Editor:

There have been several interesting letters to the editor in The Sylva Herald and the Smoky Mountain News over the past few weeks. I agreed with some of their lines of thoughts and ideas; with others I did not agree. But they were all trying to express their ideas, and I will give them that. 

To the Editor:

Millions of people tuned in to the debate between President Joe Biden and former President Donald Trump on June 27. What did we see? No one could deny that we saw a president clearly diminished cognitively.

To the Editor:

This writing is not the product of extensive research. It is an opinion. The opinion of an octogenarian American male. Much like millions of Americans express. An opinion regarding our government “of the people, for the people and by the people.” 

To the Editor:

I’m writing in response to the “Democrats try to scare voters” letter in the May 8 edition of your paper. That idea is totally preposterous considering that the standard bearer of the Republican Party is a fear master.  

It’s been just over two years since a leaked draft opinion suggested the U.S. Supreme Court would vote to overturn its landmark 1973 Roe v. Wade abortion ruling, and it’s now been nearly two years since that actually happened.

To the Editor:

In a letter in SMN’s April 10 edition, a former official of the Haywood County Democratic Party challenged Christians to defend an array of typically awkward Trumpian statements and actions during Holy Week that she characterizes as “unholy.” What is notable about the letter is not what it contains, but what it does not contain, which is any evaluation of how the actions of her party’s current national standard-bearer — indeed how the actions and policy aspirations of her party as a whole — bear even a remote resemblance to genuine Christianity.