MSNBC Brutal Attack on Rand Paul...

and it's Rand's own damn fault.

 Steve Benen writes for the Rachael Maddow blog:

For far-right politicians like Sen. Tom Cotton (R-Ark.), last week’s unprecedented stunt was at least coherent – he and other Republicans wanted to derail the diplomatic efforts, betray President Obama, undermine American foreign policy, and push the world closer to a military confrontation with Iran. Putting aside whether or not the letter was disgusting, there was at least an obvious parallel between the letter and its objectives.

Rand Paul’s argument, on the other hand, is more of a mess.

He’s opposed to a war with Iran, so he signed on to a letter than would push us closer to a war with Iran. He wanted to help the White House “negotiate from a position of strength,” so he put his signature on a letter designed to weaken the administration’s negotiating position.

The fact that Rand Paul signed the letter is a problem. The fact that Rand Paul apparently didn’t understand the point of the letter he signed is a much more alarming problem – especially for someone who would like to be the leader of the free world in 22 months.

Keep in mind, the Kentucky senator has had some time to come up with a good defense for his participation with this dangerous stunt, but he apparently can’t think of anything else. A few days after the letter went public, Paul told Matt Lauer that he signed on to the sabotage letter because he wanted to “strengthen the president’s hand.” When the “Today” host seemed incredulous, the GOP presidential candidate struggled to respond.

There’s a growing list of issues Rand Paul claims to care deeply about, but which he does not appear to understand at a basic level. It appears we now have a new addition to that list.