Col. Rob Maness Recommended for U. S. Senate

In 1996, I had the privilege of serving as the Republican nominee for the United States Senate against the Democrat, Mary Landrieu.  More than 847,000 Louisianians voted for me in that election. Now Sen. Landrieu is on the Nov. 4 election ballot, and our citizens will decide whether to return her to the Senate.

In Monday night’s Senate debate on WWL-TV in New Orleans, Sen. Landrieu referred to the 1996 runoff against me as her toughest election ever.  But it is my hope and prayer that this current election will end up being her toughest ever and indeed her last.

Her liberal voting record and slavish adherence to President Obama’s agenda have made her one of the most vulnerable incumbent senators in the country.

I know the three major candidates in this race rather well and have carefully considered how I should vote and what recommendation to make to my friends. Based on my personal knowledge of the candidates, their philosophies, and their voting records, I am very confident that Col. Rob Maness is the outstanding choice.  Maness is a true conservative, a real leader, and an articulate spokesman for the free enterprise system, a strong national defense, controlling illegal immigration, the right to life, and adherence to the Constitution. I am impressed by his service to our nation as a B-1 bomber aviator and wing commander and by the outstanding, positive campaign he has run.  He is exactly the kind of leader we need in the Senate today, and I am confident that he will make a real difference in the Senate if elected.  The colonel has developed an organization in every corner of the state, raised nearly $2.5 million, and has more than 30,000 individual donors and more than 500 volunteers working on the ground.

I respect the other Republican in the race, Congressman Cassidy, but I believe Maness is the best choice for conservatives Nov. 4, that he will be the strongest candidate against Mary Landrieu in the Dec. 6 runoff, and that he has the best leadership ability to influence the Senate and the nation.

It seems so obvious to me that an authentic conservative who is a dynamic and inspirational speaker, a decorated combat veteran WITHOUT POLITICAL BAGGAGE is the Democrats’ worst nightmare. He would be the strongest candidate.

More than $6 million has been spent by the Democrats to exploit Congressman Cassidy’s vulnerabilities on the border fence, illegal immigration, Obamacare, the national debt, and more. And the negative attacks will continue relentlessly. As a result, his negatives are sky-high.

I am also concerned about his reluctance to debate. A candidate running against a Democratic incumbent should be eager to debate the issues, because the issues are all on our side. You should want to carry the fight to voters and make your case at every opportunity. In any case, the argument that Maness can’t win seems nothing more than spin to me. Far from that being the case, he seems to me to be quite obviously the best candidate to defeat Landrieu in the runoff.

Something happened in the 1996 election that put a scar on the history of Louisiana politics.  In addition to the Senate and Presidential race, voters faced three gambling propositions — land-based casino, riverboat gambling, and video poker.  Gambling interests poured in more than $20 million, most of which was spent on the streets, much of it illegally.  Their illegal activities benefitted not only the gambling propositions but Landrieu as well.

Because of reports of election fraud in New Orleans, the U.S. Senate Rules Committee conducted a year-long investigation of the 1996 election.  I claimed vote-buying, multiple voting, mismatched signatures on the voting registers, and numerous illegalities resulted in more than 35,000 illegal votes being cast.

We presented solid evidence to back up our claims.  However, the committee ultimately decided that while election fraud did occur, they could not determine whether it was sufficient to have changed the results of the election.

Now Louisiana has the opportunity to correct that wrongdoing from long ago, and I believe Col. Maness is the best person to defeat Landrieu and go to Washinton and represent the best interests and the authentic views of the people of our state.  Please join with me in voting for him.