One of the surprisingly high-profile critics is Sen. Tom Cotton of Arkansas, who came to prominence with a letter signed by 46 Republican colleagues to leaders of Iran warning against a deal. Cotton denounced the framework reached Thursday as “a list of dangerous U.S. concessions that will put Iran on the path to nuclear weapons,” words his colleagues say expressed his deep concern about Iran’s threat to Israel’s security.
But it is also true that Cotton and other Republicans benefited from millions of dollars in campaign spending in 2014 by several pro-Israel Republican billionaires who helped them topple Democratic opponents.
Republicans in the Senate raised more money during the 2014 election cycle in direct, federally regulated campaign contributions from individuals and political action committees deemed pro-Israel than their Democratic counterparts, according to data compiled by the Center for Responsive Politics and analyzed by MapLight. The Republican advantage was the first in more than a decade.
Sen. Lindsey Graham, R-S.C., saw his donations from pro-Israel donors soar to about $285,000 in the 2014 election cycle from less than $100,000 in 2008, during his previous election, the analysis shows. Pro-Israel contributions to Sen. Richard Durbin, D-Ill., fell to less than $150,000 in 2014, when he was also re-elected, from nearly $300,000 in 2008.
In this sense, Rand Paul just looks like a typical run of the mill Republican.
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