Sen. Bill Cassidy knows a thing or two about the persistent southern heat. You would, too, if you grew up in on the banks of the Mississippi in Lousiana’s lower half.

The South is stubbornly heat tolerant, with southerners coping by saying “it’s not the heat that will get you, it’s the humidity,” and by maintaining an ever-ready pitcher of sweet tea or Cheerwine. Southerners know that there’s no sense in trying to beat the heat (This North Carolina reporter will tell you, you simply can’t).