Ted Budd exploits Predator Panic to steal a Senate seat

Ted Budd, seen here illustrating the size of the lie he told us

While I'm certain this was not the only lie Ted Budd told to get elected, it is the most worthy of a Shiitake Award nomination. 

https://www.usnews.com/news/elections/articles/2022-11-09/republican-ted-budd-wins-battleground-race-for-senate-in-north-carolina

Republican Ted Budd Wins Battleground Race for Senate in North Carolina

The victory dashes hopes of Democrats to flip the seat and helps leave open a path for Republicans to take control of the Senate.

By Claire Hansen, Nov. 9, 2022, at 12:05 am

"...Budd represents the state’s 13th District in Congress and sits on the far right edge of the GOP’s policy platforms. He is a vocal supporter of former President Donald Trump, who has endorsed him, and in 2020 voted against certifying the results of the 2020 election. Budd has called the people who stormed the Capitol on Jan. 6 “patriots” and is a co-sponsor of a bill to ban abortions nationwide after 15 weeks.

...Budd ran a relentlessly negative ad campaign about Beasley, painting her as weak on crime and, in particular, as someone soft on child sexual abusers – ads experts say carried clear racial overtones."

https://www.ncdp.org/media/icymi-politics-nc-im-ted-budd-and-i-approve-this-lie/

"When Ted Budd said, “I’m Ted Budd and I approve this message” before his latest attack on Cheri Beasley, he admitted that he’s a liar. There’s virtually nothing true in the ad. I guess that’s not surprising coming from a guy who also spread the Big Lie after the 2020 election. It’s on brand for the modern Republican Party.

From beginning to end, the ad makes up stuff from whole cloth. It begins saying that Cheri Beasley set free a child rapist. In fact, the guy was in jail until September of this year, more  than three years after the decision.  It goes on to say that Beasley “struck down a bipartisan law” but that didn’t happen, either. The case concerned whether or not the state can monitor someone based on past behavior, even if they have served their sentence. Beasley just sided with the majority on the Supreme Court in upholding the ruling of the Court of Appeals. The person that Budd says is out stalking people again is on probation and still subject to monitoring. In other words, his whole ad is a lie. 

But let’s get serious about what the ad is meant to do. It’s a softer version of the Willie Horton ad. It’s an emotional appeal, scaring White people by insinuating Cheri Beasley is unleashing dangerous Black men at a time when crime is an increasing concern. Budd and the GOP’s closing argument is that Beasley sides with sex offenders. It’s not true, most people know it, but it plays on racial fears that are, unfortunately, still alive and well in parts of North Carolina."