Wow:
Here's what Maness said:Rob Maness, a Tea Party-backed candidate who is seeking to be the Louisiana GOP’s nominee for the U.S. Senate, recently implied that incumbent Democratic Sen. Mary Landrieu would have supported slavery — and opposed women’s rights — were she alive during the late 18th century, according to a report from ThinkProgress.Speaking in front of a conservative audience, Maness implicitly argued that Landrieu’s reference to other senators’“obnoxious” behavior meant that the Louisiana senator considered all unpopular opinions to be similarly distasteful.
From that logical leap of faith, Maness took another, next arguing that Landrieu would not approve of his family dog being named after former First Lady Abigail Adams, because Adams held some opinions that were unpopular at the time — chiefly, opposition to slavery and support for women’s rights. - Salon, 11/5/13
Here's a few other things you should know about Maness:MANESS: We’ve got a dog named Lady Abigal named after the outspoken first lady Abigail Adams. Senator Landrieu might have called Mrs. Adams “obnoxious,” especially since she was opposed to slavery and favored women’s rights when both were very unpopular ideas.Some might see this offhand quip as a gaffe, but not Maness. He features the speech prominently on his campaign website.
Maness is currently vying for the Republican nomination against Rep. Bill Cassidy (R-LA) who, despite his near-perfect 92 score in the 2012 American Conservative Union scorecard, is viewed as insufficiently conservative in the eyes of many Tea Partiers.
The Maness-Cassidy matchup could echo a plethora of other Senate races in the past two elections where firebrand Tea Partiers, like Todd Akin and Richard Mourdock, were able to prevail in primarie over a more electable Republican, only to find themselves unable to appeal to the electorate as a whole. - Think Progress, 11/5/13
And he's a huge hypocrite:A conservative political action committee is backing the underdog candidacy of Republican Rob Maness in the 2014 Senate race.The endorsement Monday by the Senate Conservatives Fund isn't a surprise because the group has been signaling for months its dissatisfaction with the conservative credentials of the GOP establishment candidate, Rep. Bill Cassidy, R-Baton Rouge.
But it should help Maness' under-financed campaign. He reported about $100,000 in his campaign treasury through Sept. 30, compared with $3.4 million for Cassidy and $5.8 million for incumbent Sen. Mary Landrieu, D-La.
"He understands the value of our freedoms and will fight to repeal Obamacare and stop the massive spending, bailouts and debt that are bankrupting our country," Conservatives Fund Executive Director Matt Hoskins said of Maness. - The Times-Picayune, 10/28/13
And what's really pathetic is establishment backed candidate Rep. Bill Cassidy (R. LA) is struggling to unite conservatives for his support:Rob Maness, a former Air Force officer hoping to take on Sen. Mary Landrieu (D-LA) next year, has repeatedly blasted what he sees as unnecessary excess in the farm bill, legislation that provides subsidies to farmers and food stamps for low-income Americans.When the House previously voted down a farm bill that contained some, but significantly reduced, funding for food stamps, Maness praised the defeat, calling the legislation a “Leviathan.” The farm bill has been held up in Congress after a Tea Party-led backlash in the House of Representatives led Republicans to remove the food stamp program from the farm bill and then insist in dramatic cuts.
“We owe it to our farmers to pass a bill that addresses their needs – not holds them hostage to welfare programs or puts outrageous debt on the backs of them and their children,” Maness said in a statement. He also argued that farm subsidies “are prone to corruption, waste, fraud and abuse” and should be phased out.
Yet, despite his opposition to farm subsidies, a ThinkProgress investigation has found that Maness has been all too willing to accept thousands in subsidies for his own farm.
Between 2007 and 2012, Maness took $4,958 in commodity subsidies for his farm in Madisonville, Louisiana, the 14th largest sum of any farmer in the town.In an interview with the New Orleans Times-Picayune, Maness argued that “Without a true free market system, for most small, family farmers, a government subsidy is the difference between a profit and a loss, and being able to provide for your family and plant next year’s crop.” However, in his financial disclosure, Maness declared $18,909 in income from his farm in 2012 alone, more than triple the amount he received in subsidies.
Maness valued his farm between $500,001 and $1,000,000 in his personal financial disclosure earlier this year. - Think Progress, 11/6/13
While Maness and Cassidy duke it out, Landrieu is busy doing her job:For a while it appeared that the race was set. Democratic incumbent Mary Landrieu would face Republican Rep. Bill Cassidy, a physician who has been in public office for less than eight years. Polls show a competitive matchup.But Cassidy is having trouble getting conservatives in his state to sign onto his campaign and conservative opposition is growing. Last week, the Senate Conservatives Fund endorsed Rob Maness, an Air Force veteran who has been working the grass-roots route through Louisiana. Despite efforts to show conservative solidarity, many in Louisiana still view Cassidy — who once supported Democrats and donated to Landrieu — as a moderate.
Right now, there are two Republican candidates in the race, and if more jump in, then the GOP vote in next November’s “jungle primary”— in which the top two vote-getters advance, regardless of party — will be split. That will increase the chances Landrieu could win outright with more than 50 percent of the vote — or the Republican candidate will be badly bruised heading into a runoff.
Historically, runoffs, which fall in December, have favored incumbents.
“It’s easier going up against an incumbent that is well entrenched to have one candidate and everybody rally around that candidate,” said Rep. John Fleming (R-La.), who considered challenging Landrieu but backed down after Cassidy got in the race. - Politico, 11/3/13
And Landrieu has been getting praise back home for this:The Federal Emergency Management Agency has forgiven the community disaster loans it made to Jefferson Parish and to the St. Tammany Parish Sheriff’s Office after Hurricane Katrina, Sen. Mary Landrieu’s office announced Tuesday.The cancellation frees Jefferson Parish of having to repay its original $54.8 million loan and the $11.1 million in interest the loan has accrued, Parish President John Young said.
The St. Tammany Sheriff’s Office is relieved of repaying a $9.9 million loan.
The news comes after several years of wrangling with FEMA over eligibility requirements that had excluded many southeast Louisiana governments, sheriff’s offices and other organizations from having their loans forgiven.
Landrieu succeeded earlier this year in changing what her office called a flawed formula that prevented the cancellation of $286.7 million in community disaster loans in southeast Louisiana.
Among other things, the old FEMA formula required that organizations demonstrate a revenue loss in the three years following a disaster. That requirement posed a problem for places such as Jefferson Parish, where post-storm spending caused a short-term bump in sales tax collections.
Landrieu’s rule change was added to the 2013 Homeland Security Appropriations bill. - The Advocate, 11/8/13
If you would like to donate or get involved with Landrieu's campaign, you can do so here:FEMA's decision lets Jefferson skate on a $65.9 million obligation: $54.8 million in principal and $11.1 million."This is a tremendously positive development for Jefferson Parish government and its citizens," Parish President John Young said. "It is a fair and just result that will allow Jefferson Parish to move forward toward complete economic recovery post-Katrina.
"We would like to thank Sen. Mary Landrieu and our entire congressional delegation for their tireless and persistent efforts in achieving this result." - The Times-Picayune, 11/7/13
