In what may well turn out to be one of the most bizarre forms of twisted, pretzel-like logic ever conceived, Kentucky Senator Rand Paul is now claiming he signed the highly controversial letter to the leadership of Iran as a way of helping President Obama while the Administration continues nuclear negotiations with Tehran.
In an interview, the would-be 2016 GOP Presidential candidate defended his actions with what sounds like a man trying to talk out of both sides of his mouth simultaneously:
“There’s no one in Washington more against war and more for a negotiated deal than I am. But I want the negotiated deal to be a good deal. So my reason for signing onto the letter, I think it reiterates what is the actual law, that Congress will have to undo sanctions. But I also signed onto the letter because I want the president to negotiate from a position of strength which means that he needs to be telling them in Iran that ‘I’ve got Congress to deal with.’”
Well, that certainly makes things as clear as fetid water in a storm drain, don’t you think?
Paul also managed to take some cheap shots at the President while claiming he wants to be helpful in foreign policy:
“I wouldn’t have signed the letter had he not altered immigration law on his own, had he not altered the health care law on his own, and had he not taken us to war on his own.”
For his part, the President admonished the Republicans who signed last week’s letter while speaking at the annual Gridiron Club dinner on Saturday:
“You don’t diminish your office by taking a selfie. You do it by sending a poorly written letter to Iran. Really. That wasn’t a joke.”
Rand Paul and the Congressional Republicans need no help making a joke of themselves. As they have proven on countless occasions, they excel in the art of jackassery.
This article was originally published by the same author at LiberalAmerica.org.