Tom Cotton’s dopey talking points: Getting it wrong on Iran, over and over

Sophisticated talking-point android Tom Cotton is on-message and off-base on nuclear negotiations with Iran

SIMON MALOY

Back when Tom Cotton was running for Senate against Mark Pryor, he demonstrated a preternatural talent for speaking only in talking points. You could ask him a question about literally anything and he’d answer by saying that Obamacare is killing jobs and Mark Pryor voted with Barack Obama 93 percent of the time. During one of his debates with Pryor, a questioner actually cut Cotton off in the middle of a response and pointed out that he was “just doing talking points” and not answering her question. Cotton smiled politely and continued on with his canned messaging. He was merciless, robotic, and unstoppable.

The campaign is over and Cotton is safely ensconced in the Senate for at least six years, but his tactic of blunt-force talking-point repetition has endured. Cotton stopped by “Morning Joe” today to discuss the uproar caused by his “open letter” to the Iranian government explaining the basics of American constitutional government. The letter has been criticized as a fairly blatant attempt to sabotage the U.S.-led negotiations over Iran’s nuclear program, but Cotton insisted that’s not the case (his previous stated intention to sabotage the negotiations notwithstanding). Confronted with those criticisms, Cotton had one thing to say, and he said it several times over.

Asked by Joe Scarborough to respond to claims that he and the 46 other Republican senators who signed the letter “undercut” the president, Cotton said:

COTTON: The point we’re making to Iran’s leaders – who, if you talk to many Iran experts will say, don’t understand our constitution – is that if Congress doesn’t approve a deal, Congress won’t accept it.

Asked by Mika Brzezinski if he was “tampering” with the process, Cotton said:

COTTON: No. We’re making sure that Iran’s leaders understand that if Congress doesn’t approve a deal, Congress won’t accept a deal. Because we’re committed to stopping Iran from getting a nuclear weapon.

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http://www.salon.com/2015/03/10/tom_cottons_dopey_talking_points_getting_it_wrong_on_iran_over_and_over/