As North Carolina Goes . . .

http://www.nytimes.com/2016/12/27/opinion/as-north-carolina-goes.html

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To the Editor:

Re “How North Carolina Lost Its Cool,” by Karen L. Cox (Op-Ed, Dec. 20):

What is happening in North Carolina appears to follow a playbook we’ve seen in other Republican-controlled state governments like Wisconsin and Kansas. The tactics: Gerrymander districts to favor G.O.P. candidates, suppress the vote, meet at night and other odd times to ramrod unpopular legislation into law, and shred the social contract between government and the people until all that is left is a hollowed-out facade of what was once our sacred democratic institutions.

The greater concern is that Donald Trump and his cabinet of extremists and billionaires seem poised to unleash the same tactics on the federal government by claiming a mandate they do not have. These slash-and-burn tactics have failed in state governments, and they will most assuredly fail at the federal level.

The difference is that the consequences will be catastrophic for the entire country.

DENNIS M. CLAUSEN

Escondido, Calif.