GOP familiars are pretty slick at this sort of misinformation and outright lying. Sure, MAGA viewers will likely believe it hook, line, and sinker. But in the absence of any truthful attributions, if even 10-20% of Independents believe this fabrication, it's not good.
Looks like it's time for Dem candidates like Cooper to wheel out the Jeffrey Epstein card once again. Something that Trump--and the entire pedophile-protecting GOP--is carrying like an albatross around their necks.
They go low. We slap them upside the head with Jeffrey Epstein.
Unfortunately, Roy Cooper is an honorable man, and is too hesitant to get into the mud with the Republicans. I wish his team would put out all the bad things that are out there about Whatley, but I think they are being restrained from doing it. Maybe they will let loose in the general. We will see.
Unfortunately, Michelle Obama's famous statement, "When they go low, we go high," no longer is feasible. The new rule MUST be: "When they go low, we go low." (Not "lower," but we are going to have to match them if we are to retake our democracy)
I’m kind of tired seeing Michelle Obama dragged into this stuff all the time. It was 10 yrs ago for heavens sake. But since there is no avoiding it — A big part of what she wanted was responses to have solutions & not be mud wrestling contests like if they lie we lie. Or bullying children like hers were bullied. Or childish name-calling.
There are some practical issues with focusing on mud wrestling. A. It can bury a candidate’s message. B. If it doesn’t align with voter concerns & clearly connect the dots, it is a waste. Voters often throw up their hands and say “they’re all alike.” And then there is C. If a candidate starts doing things voters think is out of character they may ‘cheer’ or they might wonder if he’s a desperate loser.
There is a thing about Whatley that is true & can make this GOP ad boomerang and cut Whatley off at the knees. He posts stuff in a pickup truck & fakes that he’s driving around the state. Popular Information recently outed the facts on that. A. He uses private jets, a lot. So he’s not the candidate of working people. B. One, maybe the main jet used, is owned by a felon. “Drew Boggs was pardoned by President Trump on January 20, 2021, the last day of his first term.“ (for fraud).
The punchline could be something like - if he’s lying about Cooper and doing this what else is he hiding. Even better if a voter says it.
Michael Whatly said on the Howie Carr show that the GOP should unite to resist the release of the Epstein Files. Because whatever is still unreleased--or so heavily redacted as to be unintelligable--will hurt the party if shown to the public.
Whatley is part of the coverup. A pedo-protector. A scumbag.
Of course it will hurt the party. And the longer they try to cover it up the more damage it will do when it inevitably comes out that they have been protecting rapists and child molesters. Why do rightwingers think that if they don’t talk about it, it never happened?
Pretty sure it will show that their president is a pedophile and rapist,and that they knew it all along and did not see that as an impediment to being President of the United States.
The files may also empty out a lot of corner offices on Wall Street.
I wondered too. When I looked for polling - which we know is not the greatest indicator - what I found says Cooper is 11 points ahead of Whatley. There is not a lot of public polling yet for the General Election. But this tells me the GOP’s polling which is not public says the same thing; their candidate is a loser.
Private polling is going to be more reliable than what is public. That’s why back in the day, Manafort was sharing it with the Russians.
Is there any trustworthy news source in North Carolina disputing this? Is North Carolina so isolated and its people so uninformed that this kind of stuff can be disseminated across the state without any pushback from REAL media? Are there any statewide papers in NC that are legit and would, like Judd here, report that this "organ" of independent journalism is a swamp creature dripping all over the carpet?
Oh, I forgot, you can say anything on social media platforms and it's okay, it's legit, it's the "people's voice." Such bullshit and everyone seems to love the taste of bullshit. I'm sick of the stupidity. Even more than the venality of the liars, it's the idiocy of the believers that makes me angry. What a stupid country we live in.
There are few real newspapers, and most of the State watches Fauxnooz. To say that the majority of voters of NC are MISinformed is putting it mildly. There is also the input of the fundamentalist churches who tell their parishioners that Democrats are the devil and they will go to hell if they ever vote for a Democrat. This is MAGA.
What they need to do is simply ANNOUNCE that they are filing suits. 5-10 billion seems to be the going rate now. Include all of the organizations and people involved with the scam. They don’t have follow through on the filing, just get the publicity. The papers can always be ready “sometime in the next 2 weeks”.
Well, there is that thing about his opponent flying around on private jets while pretending to drive around the state in a pickup truck - like a regular guy. It dovetails nicely with the Epstein Class:
“Drew Boggs was pardoned by President Trump on January 20, 2021, the last day of his first term.” (For fraud, but still the irony runs deep.) I’d like to hear a voter in an ad bringing up the private jets to then asking how can we trust him? (I have no clue about his connection to Epstein files. But he has his own sex offender pal.
Michael Whatly said on the Howie Carr show that the GOP should unite to resist the release of the Epstein Files. Because whatever is still unreleased--or so heavily redacted as to be unintelligable--will hurt the party if shown to the public.
Whatley is part of the coverup. A pedo-protector. A scumbag.
Anyone can sue but defamation is not easy to prove. My suspicion is that the GOP lawyers are prepared to litigate it. While it’s true this was a S.C. case the overriding issue & Cooper’s involvement is what the GOP wants to raise. That’s why they want to use the family member & likely why the family member agreed.
"while it's true that this was a SC case" -- then Cooper has no involvement, and he has been defamed. Their blurring out the "South Carolina" part of the article shows actual malice, or knowingly publishing falsehoods.
I hope it works that way if it goes to court. I also hope it doesn’t give the story a boost if there is legal action bc explanations get exploited and it can get complicated.
Republicans are re-running the hits from the past, in this case, the Willy Horton ad, used by George H. W. Bush.
In Ohio, John Husted is attacking Sherrod Brown because a vehicle driven by a naturalized citizen collided with a car and killed a couple and their infant son. The wife's brother has asked Husted to stop running the ad as it gives pain to the grieving family.
We can expect more guilt by association tactics as we get closer to November.
Yes, but the one they’re running on Cooper using a homicide that happened in SOUTH Carolina & the guy was released by a S.C judge. That’s really desperate. I guess one ad Cooper’s campaign could run would be that Whatley is losing. Therefore, so desperate the GOP has to set up a website to use issue in other states for attacks on him.
Lots of people believe what they want to believe and are not interested in letting facts get in the way of their beliefs. Easy pickings for fake news.
It's astounding to me the acceptance people have that the mega millions invested in the upcoming election to promote lies will buy them the elections. The war in Iran is not a lie, The corrupt Trump administration is not a lie. The price of gas is not a lie. The price of groceries is not a lie, etc. These are all observable facts. The republican administration is not even trying to hide it.
Today, I do believe these Dumbf****s are a minority, but we have to keep working to take our country back from these criminals. So many have stood up and fought for our country and continue to do so. That is the true strength of our country, people who genuinely care about each other.
When they go low, they can find a way to go lower!
I feel for Logan Federico, but he would be healed more by the truth. Would it be most effective for Roy Cooper to address this false reporting directly, and expose the Republicans for criminal defamation?
This Willie Horton move proves the polls the GOP sees align with public polling. At this point Cooper has a comfortable (even double digit) lead. Cooper’s campaign could run an ad that Whatley is losing. Therefore, so desperate the GOP is using an issue in another states for attacks on him. I’ll love to have it be a voters saying it. One could be that he lies about traveling the state in a pickup truck & uses a couple private jets - one owned by a felon who was pardoned by trump. Then there is this: https://ncnewsline.com/2026/07/24/new-2-3m-ad-campaign-ties-whatley-to-convicted-sex-offender-as-ncs-us-senate-race-tightens/
Just curious, are the TV ads limited to FOX "News" and CBS? Regardless, the only way any Republican can win an election is by cheating.
They are correctly assuming that many Americans blindly believe everything they read on Social Media.
GOP familiars are pretty slick at this sort of misinformation and outright lying. Sure, MAGA viewers will likely believe it hook, line, and sinker. But in the absence of any truthful attributions, if even 10-20% of Independents believe this fabrication, it's not good.
Looks like it's time for Dem candidates like Cooper to wheel out the Jeffrey Epstein card once again. Something that Trump--and the entire pedophile-protecting GOP--is carrying like an albatross around their necks.
They go low. We slap them upside the head with Jeffrey Epstein.
Unfortunately, Roy Cooper is an honorable man, and is too hesitant to get into the mud with the Republicans. I wish his team would put out all the bad things that are out there about Whatley, but I think they are being restrained from doing it. Maybe they will let loose in the general. We will see.
Unfortunately, Michelle Obama's famous statement, "When they go low, we go high," no longer is feasible. The new rule MUST be: "When they go low, we go low." (Not "lower," but we are going to have to match them if we are to retake our democracy)
I’m kind of tired seeing Michelle Obama dragged into this stuff all the time. It was 10 yrs ago for heavens sake. But since there is no avoiding it — A big part of what she wanted was responses to have solutions & not be mud wrestling contests like if they lie we lie. Or bullying children like hers were bullied. Or childish name-calling.
There are some practical issues with focusing on mud wrestling. A. It can bury a candidate’s message. B. If it doesn’t align with voter concerns & clearly connect the dots, it is a waste. Voters often throw up their hands and say “they’re all alike.” And then there is C. If a candidate starts doing things voters think is out of character they may ‘cheer’ or they might wonder if he’s a desperate loser.
Watley appears to be in a position to lose badly in the General Electin so the GOP pulls a Willie Horton. Cooper doesn’t necessarily need to respond directly in an ad. It is a GOP ad. A Dem friendly PAC can do it. One is already running this: https://ncnewsline.com/2026/07/24/new-2-3m-ad-campaign-ties-whatley-to-convicted-sex-offender-as-ncs-us-senate-race-tightens/
There is a thing about Whatley that is true & can make this GOP ad boomerang and cut Whatley off at the knees. He posts stuff in a pickup truck & fakes that he’s driving around the state. Popular Information recently outed the facts on that. A. He uses private jets, a lot. So he’s not the candidate of working people. B. One, maybe the main jet used, is owned by a felon. “Drew Boggs was pardoned by President Trump on January 20, 2021, the last day of his first term.“ (for fraud).
The punchline could be something like - if he’s lying about Cooper and doing this what else is he hiding. Even better if a voter says it.
https://popular.info/p/gop-senate-candidate-campaigning
I’m betting a PAC will run such ads for Cooper even if he does not.
Michael Whatly said on the Howie Carr show that the GOP should unite to resist the release of the Epstein Files. Because whatever is still unreleased--or so heavily redacted as to be unintelligable--will hurt the party if shown to the public.
Whatley is part of the coverup. A pedo-protector. A scumbag.
Of course it will hurt the party. And the longer they try to cover it up the more damage it will do when it inevitably comes out that they have been protecting rapists and child molesters. Why do rightwingers think that if they don’t talk about it, it never happened?
They wouldn't be fighting so hard for the coverup unless there's some truly damaging revelations coming out.
Pretty sure it will show that their president is a pedophile and rapist,and that they knew it all along and did not see that as an impediment to being President of the United States.
The files may also empty out a lot of corner offices on Wall Street.
Agree.
We're talking about MAGA here.
This has the whiff of desperation about it. Tip of the hat to Judd for exposing this.
I wondered too. When I looked for polling - which we know is not the greatest indicator - what I found says Cooper is 11 points ahead of Whatley. There is not a lot of public polling yet for the General Election. But this tells me the GOP’s polling which is not public says the same thing; their candidate is a loser.
Private polling is going to be more reliable than what is public. That’s why back in the day, Manafort was sharing it with the Russians.
Good point - thanks Ann.
Is there any trustworthy news source in North Carolina disputing this? Is North Carolina so isolated and its people so uninformed that this kind of stuff can be disseminated across the state without any pushback from REAL media? Are there any statewide papers in NC that are legit and would, like Judd here, report that this "organ" of independent journalism is a swamp creature dripping all over the carpet?
Oh, I forgot, you can say anything on social media platforms and it's okay, it's legit, it's the "people's voice." Such bullshit and everyone seems to love the taste of bullshit. I'm sick of the stupidity. Even more than the venality of the liars, it's the idiocy of the believers that makes me angry. What a stupid country we live in.
There are few real newspapers, and most of the State watches Fauxnooz. To say that the majority of voters of NC are MISinformed is putting it mildly. There is also the input of the fundamentalist churches who tell their parishioners that Democrats are the devil and they will go to hell if they ever vote for a Democrat. This is MAGA.
This is sad.
That’s not “free speech “, I smell Lawsuits.
I’m a Canadian and I’m surprised that he can get away with this.
That’s the tip of the Iceberg. What he’s getting away with is Incomprehensible 😫
What they need to do is simply ANNOUNCE that they are filing suits. 5-10 billion seems to be the going rate now. Include all of the organizations and people involved with the scam. They don’t have follow through on the filing, just get the publicity. The papers can always be ready “sometime in the next 2 weeks”.
Can the Cooper campaign sue for defamation?
Doubtful. Unfortunately.
Cooper's only recourse is to remind voters that his opponent smeared him to distract from his involvement in covering up the Trump-Epstein Files.
Well, there is that thing about his opponent flying around on private jets while pretending to drive around the state in a pickup truck - like a regular guy. It dovetails nicely with the Epstein Class:
“Drew Boggs was pardoned by President Trump on January 20, 2021, the last day of his first term.” (For fraud, but still the irony runs deep.) I’d like to hear a voter in an ad bringing up the private jets to then asking how can we trust him? (I have no clue about his connection to Epstein files. But he has his own sex offender pal.
And this one is being run by an outside group. https://ncnewsline.com/2026/07/24/new-2-3m-ad-campaign-ties-whatley-to-convicted-sex-offender-as-ncs-us-senate-race-tightens/
Michael Whatly said on the Howie Carr show that the GOP should unite to resist the release of the Epstein Files. Because whatever is still unreleased--or so heavily redacted as to be unintelligable--will hurt the party if shown to the public.
Whatley is part of the coverup. A pedo-protector. A scumbag.
I see he played his card for Epstein as a GOP operative. One who forgets video & audio live for ever somewhere.
Cooper can personally.
Anyone can sue but defamation is not easy to prove. My suspicion is that the GOP lawyers are prepared to litigate it. While it’s true this was a S.C. case the overriding issue & Cooper’s involvement is what the GOP wants to raise. That’s why they want to use the family member & likely why the family member agreed.
https://www.charlotteobserver.com/news/politics-government/article314664852.html
"while it's true that this was a SC case" -- then Cooper has no involvement, and he has been defamed. Their blurring out the "South Carolina" part of the article shows actual malice, or knowingly publishing falsehoods.
I hope it works that way if it goes to court. I also hope it doesn’t give the story a boost if there is legal action bc explanations get exploited and it can get complicated.
Of course they lie, the truth would kill them.
Thanks to Judd and team for this story.
Republicans are re-running the hits from the past, in this case, the Willy Horton ad, used by George H. W. Bush.
In Ohio, John Husted is attacking Sherrod Brown because a vehicle driven by a naturalized citizen collided with a car and killed a couple and their infant son. The wife's brother has asked Husted to stop running the ad as it gives pain to the grieving family.
We can expect more guilt by association tactics as we get closer to November.
Yes, but the one they’re running on Cooper using a homicide that happened in SOUTH Carolina & the guy was released by a S.C judge. That’s really desperate. I guess one ad Cooper’s campaign could run would be that Whatley is losing. Therefore, so desperate the GOP has to set up a website to use issue in other states for attacks on him.
This ad is already running by a different group: https://ncnewsline.com/2026/07/24/new-2-3m-ad-campaign-ties-whatley-to-convicted-sex-offender-as-ncs-us-senate-race-tightens/
Lots of people believe what they want to believe and are not interested in letting facts get in the way of their beliefs. Easy pickings for fake news.
It's astounding to me the acceptance people have that the mega millions invested in the upcoming election to promote lies will buy them the elections. The war in Iran is not a lie, The corrupt Trump administration is not a lie. The price of gas is not a lie. The price of groceries is not a lie, etc. These are all observable facts. The republican administration is not even trying to hide it.
Today, I do believe these Dumbf****s are a minority, but we have to keep working to take our country back from these criminals. So many have stood up and fought for our country and continue to do so. That is the true strength of our country, people who genuinely care about each other.
Of course they have to show a photo of the accused… anyone remember Willie Horton?
My first thought too.
So much for MAGA whining about Fake News and its dedication to the truth.
When they go low, they can find a way to go lower!
I feel for Logan Federico, but he would be healed more by the truth. Would it be most effective for Roy Cooper to address this false reporting directly, and expose the Republicans for criminal defamation?
This Willie Horton move proves the polls the GOP sees align with public polling. At this point Cooper has a comfortable (even double digit) lead. Cooper’s campaign could run an ad that Whatley is losing. Therefore, so desperate the GOP is using an issue in another states for attacks on him. I’ll love to have it be a voters saying it. One could be that he lies about traveling the state in a pickup truck & uses a couple private jets - one owned by a felon who was pardoned by trump. Then there is this: https://ncnewsline.com/2026/07/24/new-2-3m-ad-campaign-ties-whatley-to-convicted-sex-offender-as-ncs-us-senate-race-tightens/
Willie Horton racism circa 2026
No bottom. No shame. Winning an election justifies anything and everything. If only there were accountability.
If they have to cheat so despicably, they know they're losing.