Maine Senate candidate thinks domestic violence conviction is a reason to vote for him.
Normally, you would expect a domestic violence conviction to be the kind of thing that a politician would want to sweep under the rug or just not talk about. But then you haven't met Tea Party candidate Erick Bennett, who is currently challenging Sen. Susan Collins (R-Maine) from the right because of course he is:
"The fact that I have been jailed repeatedly for not agreeing to admit to something I didn’t do should speak to the fact of how much guts and integrity I have," he exclaimed to the press, trying to convince them that his lying ex-wife set him up for reasons unknown. "If I go to D.C., I’m going to have that same integrity in doing what I say, and saying what I do, when it comes to protecting people’s rights, as well as their pocketbooks."
Bennett's right that he doesn't back down: He made an impressive show of drawing out everyone's misery by battling his conviction in court until the Maine Supreme Judicial Court shut him down in 2004, denying his claim that the court treated him unfairly. Bennett has also insinuated the Collins is a supporter of laws that supposedly railroad innocent men, though he's dodgy about what laws he's referring to.
Oh, we know exactly what laws Bennett is referring to: probably the Violence Against Women Act. We've heard Republicans be against VAWA for dodgy reasons (or no reason at all), but I'm not sure we've ever heard a Teabagger come out against VAWA because he actually supports beating women. Given the insanity of the conservative base, however, this pro-domestic violence stance seems likely to help Mr. Bennett in his quest to give Democrats a free Senate pickup.
And, if that isn't embarrassing enough... well, click the article to see a selfie Mr. Bennett took of him showing off his "abdominals." It's not pretty. Maine Republicans may be nominating a guy who's a bizarre hybrid of Todd Akin and The Situation.