BATON ROUGE – A widely circulated photo of Democratic U.S. Sen. Mary Landrieu assisting a Louisiana State University fan with a keg stand has prompted her chief rival to openly criticize her.
Landrieu made headlines over the weekend when the photo of her feeding a spigot into an upside down man’s mouth went viral. The incident transpired Saturday at a tailgate party for the Mississippi State-LSU game.
After the criticism started to pour, Landrieu, at a Monday press conference, told anyone who thought the act was distasteful to “get a sense of humor” and “life.”
Her Republican opponent, Rep. Bill Cassidy, isn’t laughing.
According to the Associated Press, on Wednesday Cassidy said people shouldn’t applaud the widely circulated photo of the Democratic senator holding a spigot to pour beer into a man’s mouth.
Cassidy, who is a physician in addition to being a congressman, specializes in treatment of the liver and said binge drinking should be discouraged because such alcohol abuse can lead to DWIs and traffic fatalities.
“Binge-drinking is associated with DWIs, with traffic fatalities, with death on campuses, with rape of young women, with fistfights,” Cassidy said at an event Wednesday, the AP reported. “It’s not something to celebrate.”
The state of Louisiana implements a blanket primary system, where the general election and primary are one in the same.
If no candidate receives 50 percent of the vote on Nov. 4, a runoff will be held on Dec. 6.
Reach David Yates at elections@legalnewsline.com