Former Democratic Kentucky state Rep. Charles Booker appeared to be pinning his hopes to defeat incumbent Sen. Rand Paul (R) in the November election on race-baiting in a new campaign ad so misleading USA Today fact-checked it.
Posted to his social media accounts Wednesday, the new ad from Booker’s campaign begins with a content warning due to its “strong imagery.”
It then opens on a noose dangling from a tree and then in front of the U.S. Capitol before later appearing wrapped around the politician’s neck as he proclaims, “The pain of our past persists to this day.”
“In Kentucky, like many states throughout the South, lynching was a tool of terror. It was used to kill hopes for freedom,” Booker explained. “It was used to kill my ancestors.”
Lynching is a tool of terror. It was used to kill hopes for freedom. In Kentucky, it was used to kill three of my uncles.
In this historic election, the choice is clear. Rand Paul may want to divide us, but hate won’t win this time.
It’s time to move forward, together. pic.twitter.com/oYxuqKFdWR
— Charles Booker (@Booker4KY) June 1, 2022
He then proceeded to mislead the viewer into thinking that Paul is in favor of lynching, trivializes slavery, and would have opposed the 1964 Civil Rights Act if he had had the opportunity, before holding tightly to the noose and asking, “Do we move forward together? Or do we let politicians like Rand Paul forever hold us back and drive us apart?”
The ad blasts Sen. Rand Paul for his 2020 stance on an antilynching bill. It doesn't mention Paul co-sponsored a new version of that legislation.
— USA TODAY Politics (@usatodayDC) June 1, 2022
Calling it a “certain-to-be-controversial ad” may have been an understatement for the article published by USA Today, but they got to the point on Booker’s fallacious attack against the Kentucky lawmaker.
Morgan Watkins, chief political reporter for the Louisville Courier-Journal and author of the piece, pointed out that Booker’s claim of Paul’s opposition to the Civil Rights Act likely came from a 2010 interview where his opinion was far more nuanced and had more to do with what powers the federal government actually was meant to have.
“I abhor racism,” Paul stated plainly. “I think it’s a bad business decision to ever exclude anybody from your restaurant, but at the same time I do believe in private ownership. But I think there should be absolutely no discrimination in anything that gets any public funding, and that’s most of what the Civil Rights Act was about, to my mind.”
On his opposition to the 2020 federal “anti-lynching” legislation, Paul was once again clear that he was not against the merit of the bill but its particular execution.
Hey @CoryBooker and @KamalaHarris lynching is already illegal but slapping someone is not lynching, We shouldn't conflate someone who has an altercation with minor injuries, with lynching, That's my opposition to this without my amendment to fix it. https://t.co/vmyuk55Dcc
— Rand Paul (@RandPaul) June 5, 2020
As he explained, at the time, the bill was too broad in its scope as to what constituted a lynching, which he also noted was already illegal. “We want the bill to be stronger,” he said in 2020. “We think that lynching is an awful thing that should be roundly condemned and should be universally condemned. I don’t think it’s a good idea to conflate someone who has an altercation where they had minor bruises with lynching.”
Current version of anti-lynching bill could allow vandals who defaced church near WH to be arrested for ‘lynching.’ Graffiti on a church is/should be a crime – it is not lynching & doesn’t merit ten years in jail. cc: @kamalaharris @corybooker https://t.co/cD08f89Zhq
— Rand Paul (@RandPaul) June 26, 2020
As it was written, the bill included 10-year sentences for acts of vandalism like graffiti, which did not relate at all to the scope of what the legislation was meant to address. And so, Paul proudly co-sponsored the new legislation that was passed with unanimous consent and signed into law by President Joe Biden in March, something Booker left entirely out of his ad.
I’m pleased to have worked with Sens. Cory Booker and Tim Scott to strengthen the language of this bill, which will ensure that federal law will define lynching as the absolutely heinous crime that it is. https://t.co/x7tJtKNo0U
— Rand Paul (@RandPaul) March 9, 2022
As for his comments on slavery, Paul was speaking in regard to the Affordable Care Act in 2011 when he opposed the argument that healthcare was a right. To say as such was equivalent to stating healthcare workers must be forced to provide care under any circumstances.
“With regard to the idea whether or not you have a right to health care,” he said, “you have to realize what that implies. I am a physician. You have a right to come to my house and conscript me. It means you believe in slavery.”
Paul went on, “You are going to enslave not only me but the janitor at my hospital, the person who cleans my office, the assistants, the nurses.”
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Native of Brooklyn, NY, Kevin Haggerty is a graduate of Hunter College where he studied Cultural Anthropology and Geography. An avid reader and truth seeker, he currently resides in Texas with his wife and their dog and, when he isn't researching current events and their impacts, you'll find him spending time with friends and family or working on his next novel.
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31 thoughts on “Ky Dems’ despicable lynching ad targeting Rand Paul draws surprising USA Today fact check”
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Need more info on those three lynched uncles of this yahoo…
How empty and and fraudulently feeble the mind that consistently and dishonestly falls back on the old bogyman and meme of racial lynching! This also shows a democrat that is incapable of actually seeing and dealing with modern day problems. He is lost in the past! In other words, a completely worthless and racist rabble rouser.
This guy is desperate because he realizes he’s gonna lose and my college philosophy professor would shoot his so-called “argument” full of holes. He’s just another race hustler.
Wow, a posted link. What’s the deal?
Democrates appear to address the fears people may face in the future, which may or may not happen. They pour gasoline on everything and hope it rains, then blame Republicans for inventing fire. They possess vivid imaginations, claiming Abraham Lincoln as a leading figure in the Democratic Party. Delusions, Joseph Biden is a better President than Jimmy “Peanut Farmer” Carter. I’m certain Jimmy’s IQ was at least 100 points higher than Biden’s. M daddy said, “if you can say anything good about someone, you shouldn’t say anything about them”. Must be why we hear so little about “Sleepy Joe”!
Funny that he mentions lynching his ancestors considering it was done by democrats
ALWAYS, the Ghetto Negro, will hide behind their infamous RACE CARDS. Why? They know, they are NON/UNDER QUALIFIED, and need an “excuse”.
Would not vote for a man that literally pushes fear on people. Majority of people moved forward and made the changes necessary to protect all people. Agenda here is to keep the dumb, dumb and to keep racism alive and well. Thank you A…hole. Just what is needed more racist in the Democrat Party. Grow up and stop grooming more marxist movements.
This guy may as well be the brother of the senator from new jersey with the same last name. They’re equally racist and stupid.
Not surprise that it’s a crooked Democrat. They have nothing else to go on except the race card. They are the most racist f**ks in this country.
Former Democratic Kentucky state Rep. Charles Booker is a race-baiting, p o s, black supremacist and Kentucky doesn’t need him.
Charles Booker is a clown, and the last thing this country needs is another black liberal in office. As if ANY of them have been anything other than a f’ing race-baiting train wreck.
As no dems have any good ideas about policies, they resort to endless lies and attacks on their opponents. Why so many people accept this behavior is puzzling and disturbing.
So Sen. Paul gets an unfair treatment for opposing the writing in certain laws? Not surprising, but very dangerous. Badly written laws can easily cause more trouble than laws written with bad intent.
“Is this the Jussie Smolett of Political ads!” Attacking a white Republican Politician claiming lynching as he runs under the party known for Slavery, KKK, Segregation, Jim Crowe, No to voting & civil rights! & started the Civil War! The same party who killed the President who ended Slavery & tried to kill the VP (Democrat) & SOS! KKK was founded under that VP after he was sworn in until Grant (Republican) became President and sent the Federal Army to go after KKK mbrs! Democrats have never been on the side of good for blacks unless they can be used to convince the masses to vote for them! Lynching = KKK/Democrats
Kamala Harris called Biden out as a White Suprematist but allowed herself to be used for her Gender and Race!
Before he insults any Republican by trying to attach lynching to our party he might want to look at history or watch his back if he’s going to trust the Democratic Party!
This should surprise no one. The left has no morals and sees nothing wrong with it. They are the party of hate and deception. They can’t run on their records because they are so bad so they have to do things like this.
Typical lying racist smears from a brain-dead anti-white negro son-of a-bitch.
You beat me to it.
Ditto.
Martin Luther King would roll over in his grave with this kind of rheteric, he spoke out against this kind of behavior. They fail to remember or intentionally neglect a good man in history. He may have had some flaws along the way, but he was sincere and people forget they murdered him for a reason. These kind of people are agenda driven only. Bringing down their own race for the love of money. Take Stacy Abrams from poor to rich and now sits on “Council on foreign Relations”. The more corrupt the more corruption they spread just like a disease. Jesse Jackson was there when he was murdered and yet they won’t release all the information to the public, reminds me of Big Pharma wanting to release their data in what 75 years. “There is nothing more painful to me at this stage in my life than to walk down the street and hear footsteps… then turn around and see somebody white and feel relieved.” So much corruption.
― Jesse Jackson
“In this historic election, the choice is clear. Rand Paul may want to divide us, but hate won’t win this time.” …What a total idiot. Does he not realize that actions such as his are exactly what is dividing the people in this country and breeding the hate he mentions. Rand Paul is probably one of the most fair politicians in Washington. This idiot wants to use race baiting to create anger and animosity in an already existing power keg of a society. If all of these Dems really wanted to HEAL the country, they would be preaching forgiveness and working towards presenting a path for moving forward. That is NOT what they want and we all know it. Our country in harmony would be very bad business for the democrats and more and more people are finally starting to wake up to their lies and deceit.
Barry Goldwater was a million times smarter than Sen. Paul. He voted against the 1964 Civil Rights Act for exactly the same reasons Paul speaks now. Goldwater was punished heavily by America in the 1964 Presidential election for voting against the Act for the same reasons Paul expresses now.
The argument was stupid then as it is now. Paul is an idiot. Goldwater finally outlived the shame of his vote by waking up. Paul will never wake up.
It seems that according to you, laws with faulty, unconstitutional execution, poorly made definitions and questionable judgments about proportional punishment, can have some insuperable moral claim on our support. That’s some terribly reckless thinking, to say the least.
It’s never wise to support a law based solely on its good intentions. That’s not the end-all-be-all of law, or else there’d be no need for legislators in the first place.
Only the courts can decide constitutionality. U.S. Senators cannot, they can only think something is unconstitutional but that can’t be determined before a LAW is challenged.
Neither Goldwater or Paul had legal backgrounds when they announced their reasons to vote against the respective bills. Nor did either produce scholarly comments by legal scholars to back up their NO votes on civil rights.
It’s hard not to point out how worthless your response is. You’re hiding behind other people in ranting about what the Court gets to decide, the legal backgrounds of those you disagree with, and “the scholars”.
Sure, the Court’s judgment on Constitutionality can override our opinions. But so what? Our opinions are valid until then. Actually, they’re valid after that, too, since the Court has changed its mind often enough, and will continue to do so in the future.
Neither Goldwater nor Paul had a legal background. True, but, once again, irrelevant, just like your final point. Many politicians are in the same boat, and that’s supposedly an outgrowth of one of this country’s beauties. We’re not managed by an obscure hierarchy of “experts” who can hide behind their expertise to bull their schemes through without our consent.
Some things are obvious enough not to need the criteria you’ve added to keep off the points I originally offered. Such as that the laws opposed were poorly defined and made bad judgment calls about proportional punishments.
Another typical libtard. Lie, lie, and lie some more. Call everyone you disagree with a racist, bigot or white supremacist. If that doesn’t seem to work, call them homophobes, xenophobes, any other phobes. You have to wonder about the people who vote for these jackass’s. Are they THAT stupid? So dumb they can’t see the damage their party has done to America? Or, have they been brainwashed to hate our country by liberal teachings in our schools?
Where else besides America can a person break every law on the books and still be a victim?
This is beyond despicable! Leftist black politicians expect us to be idiots and believe it’s the 1860’s still. This tactic is guaranteed to flop!
Idiot dumacrat already has a noose around its neck, FINISH THE JOB!!!!
Mr. Booker chooses to live in the past, rather than moving forward. He claims he’s progressive, but his premises are rooted back over 100 years in the past. The ad itself was pathetic, and Mr. Booker must be desperate to resort to such an ad.
If this a$$hole wants to live as a victim then so be it. Most people want to pick themselves up by the boot straps and battle whatever obstacles they face. Eventually you will succeed and live the American dream. I had to bust my butt to prove everyone wrong when they deemed me a loser. I EARNED my way and laughed all the way.