What form of government does the GOP want? It doesn’t appear to be democracy.

Republican Party

After watching the Jan. 6 insurrection and then seeing many Republicans refuse to acknowledge the treasonous action, after hearing that U.S. Senate Republicans refuse to even discuss the John Lewis Voting Rights Act, after reading that the N.C. legislature appears to have chosen gerrymandered maps, I must ask: What form of government does the Republican Party want? It certainly does not appear to be a democracy.

Janis Hunsinger, Cary

Gerrymandering

If I hear Republican General Assembly leaders use the word “transparency” one more time in their description of the redistricting process I am going to throw up.

Sure, they let citizens voice their concerns about the unfairness of the proposed maps, but the maps were already set in stone behind closed doors late at night. During public comments Republicans could hardly tear themselves away from their cell phones and magazines or from staring at the ceiling.

Transparency indeed. I saw exactly how a democracy is thrown under the bus. The cards have been played, but the deck has been stacked.

Barton Holtz, Pittsboro

Seek compromise

Many elected Republicans and Democrats are hanging on the radical fringes of their caucuses. If there is anything our last two elections proved, it’s that Americans don’t want radical.

We don’t want ultra-conservatism or socialist progressives. What we want is normalcy.

Unfortunately, those representing us have become blind to this. They spend their time and our money creating agendas that can’t pass instead of working towards a middle ground of success.

If we wanted a radical socialist, we would’ve elected Bernie. If we wanted a radical conservative, we would’ve re-elected Trump. But their ways of thinking were rejected at the polls. We elected a moderate Joe Biden and he needs to start acting on the platform that put him into office. Plus, our representatives and senators must realize that nobody has a mandate.

I beg all elected officials across both parties to put on their collaborative hats and work for America.

Kathy Repass, Cary

Taxing the rich

I think increasing taxes on the rich and the very rich, as proposed by President Biden, is wrong. It is the wealthy who start businesses, submit initial public offerings, employ the unemployed, and increase the national standard of living. Contrary to Biden’s opinion, taxes on the rich should be drastically reduced.

Dr. Assad Meymandi, Raleigh

New COVID drug

“Living with COVID-19: How a ‘game-changing’ pill might help us manage the pandemic,” (Nov. 3) exceeded my expectations by not limiting analysis of molnupiravir’s usefulness to just treating people in North Carolina and the U.S.

As UNC’s Dr. William Fischer pointed out, there must also be an outward focus on how COVID-19 therapeutics and vaccines can help the developing world. As long as the virus is rapidly spreading anywhere on the globe, it could replicate into a new and more dangerous variant, or disrupt already strained global supply chains. The latter could hurt Americans economically.

Molnupiravir brings hope to the developing world because it will be affordable and easy to distribute and administer. Any way the U.S. can speed up delivery of this lifesaving antiviral pill to the developing world, it will be serving its own interest and doing what’s morally right.

Jeramiah Jordan, Raleigh

Striking drivers

The striking bus drivers should have been given an ultimatum to return to work or be fired. They took their jobs, and the responsibility that goes with it, knowing the salary offered. By striking they put many families and children in difficult and sometimes dangerous situations. Parents missed work, kids had dangerous walks to and from school, and some children were left alone all day by themselves. I would have supported salary increases for the drivers, but they’ve lost my respect and my support.

Robert C. Jensen, Holly Springs

Mark Meadows

Mark Meadows has served his country well, but his feeble response to the assault that rocked our Capitol on Jan. 6 has been less than adequate. And that silence gives endorsement to white privilege.

No, I am not calling him a racist, nonetheless his response to the greatest domestic attack on our democracy is chilling. It supports a disparity of justice and gives credence to assertions that the American justice system favors skin color.

What if Barrack Obama had delivered the same speech Trump spoke that day? What if a Black mob tore through the Capitol?

If Republicans are silent to what happened on Jan. 6, the next time there’s a riot and looting they will have nothing to say.

Joseph Henderson, Durham

Where from here?

The writer is a former Durham mayor and Durham County commission chairman.

Congratulations to the newly elected and re-elected Durham mayor and City Council members, all of whom I supported. It brings to mind the analogy about the dog chasing the bus. Well, the bus has been caught and now the questions are in which direction will the bus go and who will be aboard, at least for the next two years?

Bill Bell, Durham