On Saturday, former Alaska Gov. and “Mama Grizzly” Sarah Palin held an alligator and served gator meat with “Alligator Hunter” Col. Rob Maness, the conservative Louisiana Senate candidate.
According to the Times-Picayune, Palin and Maness had an event “at Restaurant des Familles in Crown Point” and “Maness surprised the former Alaska governor with a three-foot gator” after her speech (see Shealah Craighead photo). Perhaps they will go duck hunting next, as Palin reportedly said that the Duck Dynasty crew had “nice things to say” about Maness when they visited her in Alaska.
Apparently @SarahPalinUSA hosted the @DuckDynastyAE guys at a BBQ in Alaska. She said they had “nice things to say” about @RobManess #LASen
— Cole Avery (@cole_avery1) September 27, 2014
Palin reportedly said that Maness “knows the issues and what Washington, D.C., does to a state like Louisiana” and told attendees that “We need a fighter in D.C. that doesn’t just go with the flow.”
Maness is in third place in Louisiana’s jungle primary against incumbent Sen. Mary Landrieu (D-LA) and Rep. Bill Cassidy, the moderate establishment Republican who is leading in the polls and may have trouble against Landrieu in a one-on-one matchup. But a recent poll showed that Maness is within an eight-point swing of overtaking Cassidy. If nobody gets more than 50% of the vote in November, the top two will square off in a December runoff that may decide control of the U.S. Senate.
Palin has previously hailed Maness, as Breitbart News reported, for “opposing amnesty, pledging to protect our Second Amendment rights, and promising to defund Obamacare.” And she has ripped Cassidy opposing Ronald Reagan in the past and for actually being “a supporter of Mary Landrieu until recent years.” Others have noted that Landrieu always beats candidates like Cassidy who are unable to draw sharp contrasts in a one-on-one matchup.
Tony Perkins, the president of the Family Research Council that hosted this weekend’s Values Voter Summit, said he has seen “private polling” not conducted for any campaign that, according to The Hill, “shows Maness more competitive in a runoff than” Cassidy, the “establishment pick” who is leading in the polls.
“I think our best chance to pick up a Senate seat in Louisiana is Rob Maness,” Perkins told The Hill. “That’s why I endorsed him.”
RedState noted that “Cassidy and Landrieu are creatures of Washington, D.C.” and pointed to moderate candidates the establishment pushed in GOP primaries who are now struggling in places like North Carolina and Kansas.
As Breitbart News previously noted, “Cassidy has donated thousands of dollars” to Landrieu, “which will make it tough to run against her in a general election.” He has also “mocked Louisiana Gov. Bobby Jindal” and “openly supported Michael Dukakis.”
Furthermore, Cassidy “campaigned for TARP and now claims he opposes it, which will make it even more difficult for voters in Louisiana to differentiate Cassidy from Landrieu.”
“Louisiana, Col. Rob Maness fought for us for 32 years. Let’s fight for him these next six months and let him continue to support and defend our Constitution in the U.S. Senate,” Palin said when she endorsed Maness months ago.
Since then, Maness, a 32-year career in the Air Force, has secured endorsements from the “Senate Conservatives Fund, Family Research Council, Gun Owners of America, National Association of Gun Rights, Gun Rights Across America, Eagle Forum, and Tea Party Express.”
Maness’s first television ad showed him wrestling an alligator.
Photo: Shealah Craighead
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