On Sunday morning, the Sun-Sentinel published a letter to the editor attacking Governor Ron DeSantis. Shocking, right? The letter was written by Fort Lauderdale resident “Lanny Budd.” The headline blared “He was elected governor, not king.” Calling DeSantis a “spoiled toddler,” Budd hits all the usual Democrat talking points. Somehow, Budd’s letter links to a May 2021 Sun-Sentinel editorial opinion which called the Governor an authoritarian strongman. Like DeSantis, Lanny Budd is no stranger to the Sun-Sentinel editorial page.
Since 2022, the Sun-Sentinel editors published eight letters from Lanny Budd of Fort Lauderdale. Seven of the eight attacked Governor Ron DeSantis.
In January 2022, Budd wrote “Creeping authoritarianism” which claimed DeSantis created “protection squads” and “thought police.”
In March 2022, Budd said DeSantis was “risking lives” by attacking Dr. Fauci at CPAC in Orlando.
In September 2022, Budd claimed DeSantis had a “chess set for sale.” In December 2022, Budd asked “Suppose he wins?” Budd worried that a President DeSantis would name Dr. Joseph Ladapo the next US Surgeon General.
In January 2023, Lanny Budd mockingly called upon DeSantis to ban “fascism studies” in Florida schools.
A month later, Budd was once again attacking Dr Joseph Ladapo over Covid-19 vaccines. Budd say the Florida Department of Health should be renamed the “Florida Department of Alternative Medicine.”
On April 4, 2023 Budd attacked the Florida Legislature’s push for a permit-less Constitutional carry gun bill. Budd called for license-less car driving in Florida.
WHO IS LANNY BUDD?
The Sun-Sentinel letters to the editor policy states letters “must be signed (no pseudonyms nor initials)” allowed. The policy states a writer must provided an “email address, address with city and daytime phone number for verification.” A public records search failed to locate information on any Fort Lauderdale resident named “Lanny Budd.”
While Lanny Budd of Fort Lauderdale may have no digital footprint, he is no stranger to Sun-Sentinel editors and fans of author Upton Sinclair. Lanny Budd is the hero of a series of novels written by Sinclair in the 1940s.
Sinclair’s Budd was involved in important world events of the 1940s. He helped shape events. Budd found himself in the “midst of some of the most dramatic events from 1913 to 1947, taking readers through two World Wars, star-crossed romances, and countless run-ins with some of the globe’s most infamous world leaders.” Some dubbed Budd the antithesis of “the ugly American.” Sinclair’s Budd novels were out of print for decades.
Is Lanny Budd of Fort Lauderdale a real person?
Is someone hiding behind a pseudonym to attack Governor DeSantis?
Why has the Sun-Sentinel published eight snark-filled diatribes by the same person over the last year?
REDBROWARD 
But, Tom, newspapers have always allowed those writing to the editor to use a pseudonym, rather than their real name, for publication. As long as the newspaper can verify who the writer is, that doesn’t mean the signature will be that of the writer.
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Hey Tom. Thanks for re-posting all of “Lanny Budd’s” several letters. It’s about time we got some balanced “reporting” in here. Please, keep posting more of the letters/opinions/articles that routinely blast DeSantis for his culture wars BS. Hell, even billionaire Tom Peterffy, and some of his rich friends, just announced they are putting on hold any financial support for DeSantis due to his positions on abortion, book bans, etc because they believe it has now made him unelectable at the national level. Could karma be coming to roost? Hope springs eternal.
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