Another Republican lunatic makes a name for himself...

WASHINGTON -- Dale Peterson, an Alabama Republican state official
famous for flaunting his rifle in campaign ads promising to be tough
on crime, was arrested Wednesday and charged with shoplifting a can of
cashews. The arrest, first reported by Yellowhammer.com, marked the
second time in six months that Peterson has been accused of stealing.

His new arrest occurred at a Sam's Club, where police said employees
watched Peterson eat a can of cashews in the store, then place the
empty can back on a shelf. Store security guards confronted Peterson
on his way out. He was released from custody after posting $1,000
bond.

Peterson was charged in October with stealing paper towels and beer
from a Walmart. Employees said he pushed his way through the checkout
line without paying for the items in his cart, according to police.
Peterson later said the incident was "a mistake."

Peterson's arrests are noteworthy in part because he made national
news in 2010 for his tough-talking stance on crime during an
unsuccessful run for Alabama agriculture commissioner. In a campaign
ad that quickly went viral, Peterson suggested his opponents were
"thugs and criminals," and accused them of "stealing yard signs in the
dark," and "bragging about receiving illegal money on Facebook."

Lifting a rifle to his shoulder, Peterson said, "We're Republicans, we
should be better than that," and promised to "name names and take no
prisoners" if elected. As of Wednesday, the ad had been viewed on
YouTube more than 2.6 million times.

Two years after that campaign loss, his wife Kathy Peterson campaigned
for public service commissioner using an ad featuring her husband and
his rifle. In that ad, Peterson flashed the gun in a parking lot and
warned, "I'll be the one looking after Kathy's yard signs."

The Petersons own a llama ranch in Shelby County. Earlier this year,
Dale Peterson was hired at the state Agriculture Commission, sparking
controversy given his heated rhetoric about fellow Republicans during
the 2010 campaign. A Birmingham, Ala., talk radio host called Peterson
"a useless person" filling a useless position at the state agency.

UPDATE 2:16AM: Shortly before midnight on Wednesday, Peterson used his
Twitter account to allege that his arrest was a conspiracy. In a
series of tweets, Peterson pointed fingers at conservative Alabama
political news site Yellowhammer.com and Republican Alabama House
Speaker Mike Hubbard.