Weed killer? Say what? It’s a stock punch line for Gret Stet Senate race frontrunner and State Treasurer John Neely Kennedy (R-Hack.) If there’s something he dislikes, he’s apt to reply: “I’d rather drink weed killer than” do that. Me, I’d rather drink weed killer than vote for this shameless opportunist. Why? This is his third run for the Senate and I voted for him the first time. In 2004, Neely was still a Democrat and ran as the most liberal candidate in the field. I saw him at a John Kerry rally on the New Orleans riverfront and he gave the best speech by far. He finished third in the primary with 15% of the vote. Bitter Vitter won it outright. Thanks, Neely.

The next time Neely ran for Senate was in 2008 as a Conservative Republican. This time he opposed incumbent Democratic Senator Mary Landrieu. He lost with 45.7% of the vote, running way behind John McCain who got 58.6%. In 2016, Neely is running as a steely-eyed no nonsense right-winger in the Vitter tradition only without the diapers…

Here’s the thing you need to know about John Neely Kennedy. He sounds like a redneck ignoramus in the ads below. He is not. I’ve met him. In conversation, he has a mildly twangy Southern accent whereas his current public persona “hicks it up” to appeal to the rubes and peckerwoods. He sounds like a graduate of Podunk U when, in fact, he attended Vanderbilt, UVA law school, and was a Rhodes Scholar. That’s right, Oxford, England, just like Slick Willie who Neely surely voted for twice.

I will give Neely credit for one thing. He was a consistent, albeit somewhat unprincipled, critic of Governor PBJ’s fiscal skulduggery, which is one reason he’s the jerk to beat. Actually, there are no pro-PBJ candidates. He’s that unpopular right now.

The first ad is called Fighting for Louisiana. I call it the genius/idiot spot. It has a weed killer finale, man. Bottoms up.

The title of the second ad is self-explanatory. It closes with what Neely’s advisers probably think is a brilliant line: “I believe that love is the answer but you oughta own a hand gun just in case.” Oy, just oy.

The last ad is Neely’s reprehensible national security screed wherein he advocates shooting first and asking questions later. He may well have forfeited the goat lovers vote with the closing line.

There you have it. Neely’s handlers *think* the ads are amusing, but how funny is it when a well-educated man panders to the basest instincts of the Republican base? It’s also ludicrous for a guy who’s been in office since 2000 to pose as an outsider. It’s downright Trumpian.

I am not a fan of any of the candidates but I do hope that the third time will NOT be the charm for John Neely Kennedy.