It’s time for a Frank the Tank takedown of the Ragin’ Cajun.

It’s time to go “Old School” on James Carville.

The political strategist is a proud alumnus of LSU, and over the weekend he did what all great spin doctors inside the SEC footprint would do before their team’s game against the Nick Saban War Machine. He started working the refs.

Hearts and minds, James. Hearts and minds.

No.1 Alabama travels to No.4 LSU in two weeks for the SEC’s biggest game of the regular season, and Carville wasted no time putting himself right in the middle of the conversation. In a guest column for the Baton Rouge Advocate, Carville cried collusion between the SEC and Alabama based on the ejection of LSU linebacker Devin White against Mississippi State.

“If there was any doubt, the SEC crew in zebra stripes made it clear Saturday night,” Carville wrote. “The league is in cahoots with the Crimson Tide. Yes, it appears there is collusion.”

I smell a corn dog.

First, let me say this. Thank you, James, for not just sticking to politics. We all know sports fans love it when sportswriters dip their feet into the muckety-muck that is political discourse, so I’m sure those same fans appreciate it equally when a political hack adds his two cents to a sports debate.

I can only assume Carville wrote about White’s ejection with all the sincerity and seriousness it deserves, so let me try to make sense of his purple-and-gold brain.

White’s ejection came with a half-game suspension, and because the Tigers are off this week that means White is going to have to sit out the first half against Alabama on Nov.3. That’s a shame, of course. White is arguably the best linebacker in the country, and his absence against Alabama could put LSU at a disadvantage.

Heck, the way Alabama’s offense has been playing, White might not even get a chance to be on the field at the same time with Alabama quarterback Tua Tagovailoa. Alabama has been blowing teams out so thoroughly this season that Tua hasn’t even played in the fourth quarter of a game.

So, it’s a big loss for LSU. Carville, in one of the greatest SEC conspiracy theories of all time, is saying the fix is in.

It would be one thing for Carville to accuse the SEC of an inconsistent interpretation of its targeting rule. That’s actually a fair criticism. Anyone who watched Alabama linebacker Mack Wilson launch himself in the direction of Tennessee quarterback Jarrett Guarantano’s head on Saturday would question whether or not the SEC needs to rethink its description of targeting.

Wilson knocked Guarantano out of the game, but wasn’t penalized. LSU’s White pushed State quarterback Nick Fitzgerald and was flagged for unsportsmanlike conduct and kicked out of the game.

Carville didn’t make that argument, though. Carville elevated his rhetoric to Finebaum-caller wacko by suggesting the SEC is colluding with Alabama. Collusion, for anyone who has had their head in the sand for the past two years, means two parties working together.

This is the SEC in all its crazy glory. This is why this is the best conference in the country. Yes, the team’s are great, but the fans might be even better.

What, does Carville think Nick Saban was watching LSU play Mississippi State, and called Greg Sankey on his cell phone when the league office was reviewing White’s push? (I call it a push, because you can’t really call it tackle, or a hit.)

Saban: Greg, this is Nick. We can’t take any chances. You know what to do.

Sankey: Yes, sir, Coach. We gotta protect Tua.

If anything, the SEC and the NCAA have tried to collude against Alabama over the years. The “Saban Rule” is an actual thing because opposing coaches have tried everything to limit Saban’s ability as a recruiter.

Carville is a political genius and everyone loves him, but his motives here are obvious. I salute him for his efforts, but he’s just trying to cast doubt. He’s planting the seeds of home-field advantage. He’s playing to his base’s greatest fear.

And, let’s be honest, they should be afraid. They should all be very afraid.

In the words of that iconic campus clown, Frank the Tank, “That’s the way you debate!”

Joseph Goodman is a columnist for the Alabama Media Group. He’s on Twitter @JoeGoodmanJr.