Only a third?
by digby
This is from a Politico survey of GOP activists and insiders in Iowa and New Hampshire:
One-third of Republican insiders believe that Arkansas Sen. Tom Cotton and his GOP colleagues — including several potential presidential candidates — crossed the line when they published an open letter to Iranian leaders warning about a possible nuclear deal.
A third sounds about right. And that means that two thirds of the Republican insiders in those two states think Tom Cotton and his blind followers did the smart thing.
Think about that.
Also too, told you so:
Four in five insiders believe that the recent dominance of foreign policy hurts the presidential hopes of Sen. Rand Paul (R-Ky.).
Paul was one of 47 members to sign the letter — along with Ted Cruz (Texas), Marco Rubio (Fla.), and Lindsey Graham (S.C.). Several likely presidential candidates outside the Senate have enthusiastically backed the letter as well, including Bobby Jindal, Rick Perry and Rick Santorum. Jeb Bush neither endorsed nor condemned the letter — saying only that the senators are “reacting to reports of a bad deal,” and the administration should have done more to communicate along the way.
But Paul has cultivated a reputation as a non-interventionist, and his father is widely considered even more of an isolationist. Doubts persist, despite his efforts to reassure Jewish donors, that he would not try to cut off foreign aid to Israel, as he suggested in the past.
“While he has moderated his position on several foreign policy issues, if this election becomes about foreign policy and national security — and I believe it will — Rand Paul loses,” said a New Hampshire Republican.
“It shows how flawed Rand Paul’s theory of the case was coming into 2016,” added another. “Hawks are back in vogue, and he is the odd man out, regardless of signing the letter.”
Not that he won't destroy what little remains of his integrity as he tries to prove otherwise.
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