Tom Cotton has been a senator for 10 weeks now ~ I'm still not sure it's even possible, but Tom Cotton seems to be out-Cruzing Ted Cruz ~ best summary in this commentary: "Tom Cotton is Ted Cruz with a war record, Sarah Palin with a Harvard degree, Chris Christie with a Southern accent ..." ~ ~ there are "live links" to more/corroborating information in the original ~ Sooz

Thursday, Feb 12, 2015 2:29 PM UTC
“Sarah Palin with a Harvard degree”: Why new senator Tom Cotton is so frightening
New Arkansas Sen. Tom Cotton may seem a step behind when he talks, but don't fall for it. Here's what he's up to.
Heather Digby Parton


Newly elected Tom Cotton of Arkansas is one of the youngest members of the Senate, only 37 years old, a graduate of Harvard and Harvard Law and a veteran of both Afghanistan and Iraq. Widely considered to be a leading light on the right in foreign policy and national security, Cotton was naturally given a plum assignment on the Senate Armed Services Committee. Last week he made his debut on the national stage by posing a series of probing questions about Guantánamo to Deputy Under Secretary of Defense for Policy Brian McKeon that left many people in the country wondering whether Pee Wee Herman was guest lecturing the semester he studied logic at Harvard.

With a barely suppressed smirk on his handsome young face, Sen. Cotton asked,”How many recidivists are there at Guantánamo Bay right now?” Obviously the answer was none, since the recidivists he speaks of would be people who’ve been released from Guantánamo. Next he asked, “How many detainees at Guantánamo Bay are engaging in terrorism or anti-American incitement?” Pregnant pause. Then he answered his own question — “None, because they’re detained.” Oh Suhnap!

Finally, he asked, “How many detainees were at Guantánamo Bay on September 11, 2001?” And since Guantánamo prison camp didn’t exist at the time, the answer is, once again, none.

All of this strange “questioning” was done in service of advancing the idea that since terrorism existed before Guantánamo, Guantánamo is irrelevant to terrorism today. In fact, if one were to carry that string of logic all the way out, it’s clear that since terrorism existed before the American Revolution, America is irrelevant to terrorism today as well. Case closed.

Cotton went on to claim that there is no good security reason for closing Guantánamo and that President Obama is just trying to fulfill a campaign promise. (This was a promise that helped bring him a very sizable electoral majority but who cares about that.) Cotton wound up his first set piece as national foreign policy maven with this thoughtful commentary:


All the aging hawks can rest easy. The mantle of bloodthirsty warmongers has been passed to a new generation. And unlike the veterans of yore, this one makes no tepid disclaimer that war is hell or that it should ever be avoided. He straight up wants more of it. And with the GOP on a national security tear these days, he’s sure to be a big hit with the base. There’s nothing they love more than a politician spouting cretinous foreign policy nonsense and ignoring all evidence that challenges their worldview.

For instance, the fact that Guantánamo continues to inspire terrorism in a whole new generation is indisputable. Yes, it’s possible that “they hate us for our freedom,” but they are thrilled we’ve given them their most successful recruiting tool by picking up a bunch of low-level grunts and completely innocent people, transporting them across the world to a prison camp where we tortured and imprisoned them for years without due process. Let’s just say that it’s a symbol of some stuff that doesn’t make anyone any safer. As Brian McKeon stated in his testimony at the hearing, ISIS using orange jumpsuits in their videos is an example of the propaganda the U.S. handed to them. They also waterboarded some of the prisoners — which the government fatuously insisted had nothing whatsoever to do with the U.S. torture regime. (And neither, by the way, does it help for U.S. senators to go on national television and spout dialogue even Clint Eastwood would reject as embarrassingly puerile.)

There are plenty of American military officers and national security experts who think hawks like Tom Cotton are dead wrong. People like CIA director John Brennan who said, “The prison at Guantánamo Bay undermines our national security, and our nation will be more secure the day when that prison is finally and responsibly closed.” Or Brig. Gen. Michael Lehner (retired), the man responsible for setting up the Guantánamo facility, who said, “[F]or those who think our standing in the international community is important, we need to stand for American values. You have to walk the walk, talk the talk.” Even the notorious terrorist symps John Mccain and Gen. David Petraeus have called for it to be closed. In fact, until the last few years, there was a bipartisan consensus that Guanánamo caused more harm than good and it was the details about how to shut it down that had everyone hung up. Sen. Cotton represents the current thinking on the right, which can be summed up with his words: “let ‘em rot.”

But then Cotton’s original claim to fame was a letter he sent to the New York Times back in 2006 when he was still serving in Iraq. The paper declined to publish the letter but he sent it on to the conservative blog Powerline, which published it and it traveled quickly through the conservative blogosphere, making Cotton one of the first homegrown, right-wing Internet heroes. He was very angry at the paper for reporting a story about terrorist financing schemes. In his trademark smug, smart-ass style, he concluded the letter with this:


I’m going to take a wild guess and assume he’s not going to be one of those Republican civil libertarians forming a kumbaya circle with Rand Paul. In fact, not one of the new GOP senators is likely to fall into that category. That’s a Beltway and libertarian fever dream. But you can certainly see why he rose to such early fame in right-wing circles. That brand of swaggering authoritarianism is the red meat they need to keep their coalition together in these difficult times for the party.

Tom Cotton is Ted Cruz with a war record, Sarah Palin with a Harvard degree, Chris Christie with a Southern accent — a force to be reckoned with. He may sound like he’s speaking gibberish to you or to me when he asks why there were no prisoners in Guantánamo before the prison existed, but to the Republican base he’s speaking their language as clear as day and it will fit nicely on a bumper sticker: “Let ‘em rot.”

Salon

This is evidence of the hidden dangers in an "impressive resume" ~ ~ Sooz

Bachmann's Worthy Heir
By Josh Marshall Published March 10, 2015, 12:49 PM EDT

So who is Tom Cotton exactly? His resume is admittedly impressive. MoJo says here that his win last November was a big win for the neocons who have been semi-eclipsed (but they never go away) during the Obama era. That's true. But I think it goes a bit beyond that.

Cotton actually has as much in common with the Frank Gaffney/Crazy Town Steve King/Michele Bachmann world. Related yes, but not precisely the same. Here's the lead quote from that MoJo article. "Groups like the Islamic State collaborate with drug cartels in Mexico who have clearly shown they're willing to expand outside the drug trade into human trafficking and potentially even terrorism. They could infiltrate our defenseless border and attack us right here in places like Arkansas."

Sound familiar?

As a policy matter, I'm not sure there's a huge difference. But they're at least stylistic and organizationally distinct in the US. High brow and low brow. Neocons have arguments about world historical change, totalitarianism and a handful of credentialed academics to back up their theories. Cottonites think the (Barack Hussein) Obama White House is infiltrated by the Muslim Brotherhood and is bringing down the border fence to facilitate incursions by the Mexican Drug Cartel/Hezbollah/ISIS alliance to launch the decisive attack your local convenience store.

http://talkingpointsmemo.com/edblog/bachmanns-worthy-heir

What bothers me most about people like Cotton is that there are citizens that support him.

Just like when whats-his-name yelled "You Lie!" at the State of the Union and there were those that approved and happy he did it, there are those that will approve of Cotton and others writing to Iran.

Meanwhile, they would condemn these actions if taken by Democrats.

In the perfect world I know does not exist, any one of these "horrifying facts" would doom him ~ what a waste of protoplasm! ~ ~ there are "live links" to more/corroborating information in the original ~ Sooz

10 Horrifying Facts About GOP Senator Tom Cotton
One of the worst bullies in the Senate?
By Medea Benjamin, Nalini Ramachandran / AlterNet / March 12, 2015

Hailing from Arkansas, 37-year-old Senator Cotton boasts the title of being the youngest member of the Senate, but he spouts the old warmongering rhetoric of 78-year-old Senator John McCain. From Guantanamo to Iran, food stamps to women’s rights, here are ten reasons why Tom Cotton is a dangerous dude.

1. He penned an underhanded letter to the leaders of Iran that sparked the trending hashtag #47Traitors. On March 9th, Cotton and 46 of his Republican colleagues went behind President Obama’s back by signing an “informative” letter to Iran, saying that a nuclear deal would not last because the next president could reverse it. Secretary John Kerry, one of the lead negotiators in the talks, called the letter “utterly disgusting” and “irresponsible.” Two dozen editorial boards slammed the letter and over 200,000 people signed a petition asking the senators to be charged for violating the Logan Act, a law which forbids unauthorized citizens from negotiating with foreign governments.

2. Senator Cotton said the only problem he has with Guantanamo Bay prison is that “there are too many empty beds.” Ignoring waterboarding, indefinite detention, forced feeding and other torturous acts, Tom Cotton insists that the US should be "proud" of how it treats the "savages" detained in Gitmo. As far as Cotton is concerned, "[the prisoners] can rot in hell. But as long as they don’t do that, then they can rot in Guantanamo Bay." This is counter to the position of many other Senators and President Obama, who has promised time and time again to close the prison. There are still dozens of men held at Gitmo who have been cleared for release, but that doesn’t seem to bother Senator They-Can-Rot-in-Hell.

3. He has compared the negotiations of the UN Security Council (P5+1) with Iran to the “appeasement of Nazi Germany. ”This accusation is ridiculous. Rouhani’s Iran is not Hitler’s Germany. Despite Cotton’s claims that “there are nothing but hardliners in Tehran,” Rouhani is a reformist, someone we need to work with to defeat ISIL. And the ongoing nuclear negotiations with Iran are a far better ––and safer–– approach than pushing Iran to the brink of war with the US (and Israel). For once, there is actually hope for a peaceful solution, something that certainly was not an option with Nazi Germany.

4. He thinks the use of killer drones should be expanded. Killer drones have resulted in thousands of civilian deaths in countries we’re not even at war with, like Pakistan and Yemen, and have led to an expansion of extremist groups. Senator Cotton makes the argument of many other pro-droners: that drone pilots are safer than air pilots, and casualties are reduced. Unfortunately, it’s not that simple. Drone pilots still suffer the psychological trauma associated with attacks, and the “collateral damage” of drone strikes means that families and children lose their lives along with the targeted terrorists. (Note: only 2% of all people killed by drone strikes have been confirmed “high-value” targets.) The last thing we need is the expansion of drone warfare, Tom.

5. He claims that “bombing makes us safer.” While in some masochistic, twisted logic that might make sense in the short term, historically speaking US military intervention has led to more extremism–– as with the formation of ISIS after the invasion of Iraq ––and turned local populations against the United States. Ultimately, bombing other countries just fosters more hate and anti-American sentiment. Bombing might not make us safer, but it certainly makes Tom Cotton’s friends in the defense industry a whole lot richer. Just 24 hours after his notorious letter to Iran became public, Cotton was the guest of honor at an event hosted by the National Defense Industrial Association, a lobbying and professional group for defense contractors.

6. He uses fear-mongering to call for a crackdown on immigrants and a clampdown on the Mexican border. Senator Cotton says drug cartels in Mexico are ready to expand into human trafficking and even terrorism, and could infiltrate our southern border and “attack it right here in places like Arkansas.” He’s made the wild accusation that Hezbollah is collaborating with locals in Mexico to “cross our borders and attack us here.” Ignoring the fences, drones, cameras and patrols that constantly survey the border, he maintains that the border is wide open. “As long as our border is open and it's defenseless, then it's not just an immigration issue, it's a national security issue.” Be afraid, says Cotton, very afraid--so I can keep feeding the national security state!

7. He received $700,000 for his senate campaign from the Emergency Committee for Israel. That’s correct -- $700,000! Such an exorbitant amount of money ensures that Cotton is one of the most pro-Israel senators in Congress. During the 2014 Israeli invasion of Gaza, when over 500 Palestinian were killed, Cotton called the Israeli defense force “the most moral, humanitarian fighting force in the world.” In December he said Congress should consider supplying Israel with B-52s and so-called “bunker-buster” bombs for a possible strike against Iran.

8. As an Army Lieutenant in 2006, Cotton called for the prosecution of two New York Times journalists for espionage. From his early days, Cotton has not been a fan of expository journalism. When the New York Times published an article about how the government was tracking terrorist financing, Cotton called for the journalists to be imprisoned. This news story got a lot of heat from various conservative outlets, but before he was even running for office, Cotton took it upon himself to publicize his grievances in a sarcastic letter to journalists Eric Lichtblau and James Risen. It seems that Cotton’s letter to Iran a few days ago was not the first of its kind.

9. He thinks food-stamp recipients are “addicts.” Senator Cotton hates food stamps. In his own words, he thinks the system is “riddled with fraud and abuse” and “has resulted in long-term dependency.” This is coming from the senator of Arkansas, which ranked number one in the number of residents who suffer from food insecurity. If Cotton had his way, there would be much harsher restrictions on food stamps, and the overall budget for welfare would be cut severely. Considering the high level of poverty in Arkansas, Cotton is actually voting against the interests of the people he is supposed to represent. If he’s concerned that the system is “riddled with fraud and abuse,” an audit of the Pentagon should be at the top of his to-do list.

10. He has opposed legislation to expand women’s rights. Senator Cotton voted against equal pay legislation and the Violence Against Women Act. While Senator Cotton’s website will say that the vote was taken out of context, and that the Senator supports harsh punishment for sexual assault, a vote is a vote. If that’s the case, then why would he vote against an act that would give women more resources in the case of abuse or assault? And why would he vote against legislation that would push for equivalent pay? No matter what defense Cotton’s team comes up with, there’s really no logic or excuse to vote against women’s rights.

*****

Rep. Alan Grayson says Sen. Cotton is “already on his way to marking himself as the premiere warmonger of the 114th Congress.” Heather Digby Parton from Salon called him “Ted Cruz with a war record, Sarah Palin with a Harvard degree, Chris Christie with a Southern accent.” Whatever your characterization, this much is clear: this freshman senator is an arrogant bully and needs a time out.

Medea Benjamin is cofounder of Global Exchange and CodePink: Women for Peace.

Nalini Ramachandran is a student at Northeastern University studying International Affairs and Middle East Studies. She’s currently working in the CODEPINK Washington, DC office.

http://www.alternet.org/news-amp-politics/10-horrifying-facts-about-gop-senator-tom-cotton

Steve Benen's words "... a rather profound example of a politician failing a test of self-awareness." takes the prize for best understatement of the week/month ~ ~ Sooz

Cotton worries about US interference in foreign negotiations
03/20/15 09:34 AM—Updated 03/20/15 12:08 PM
By Steve Benen

On the Senate floor yesterday afternoon, Sen. Tom Cotton (R-Ark.) shared some striking concerns about U.S. foreign policy. He also offered a rather profound example of a politician failing a test of self-awareness.

Earlier in the day, State Department spokesperson Jen Psaki told reporters that when it comes to the U.S. policy towards Israel, “We’re currently evaluating our approach.” The comments were important, but not surprising – Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s recent antics were bound to carry some consequences.

But Cotton, the right-wing freshman in his second month in the Senate, called Psaki’s comments “worrisome“ – for a very specific reason.


Hold on a second. Cotton is now concerned about U.S. officials “undermining” foreign officials “currently in negotiations”?

Seriously?

Not to put too fine a point on this, but it was literally just two weeks ago that Cotton took it upon himself to organize a letter to Iran from 47 Senate Republicans. The point of the correspondence, by Cotton’s own admission, was to target international diplomacy, undermine American foreign policy, and disrupt officials during their ongoing negotiations.

I’m going to assume the Arkansas Republican remembers this. It caused a bit of a stir.

And yet, there Cotton was yesterday, expressing concern that a State Department official, simply by stating a simple fact about U.S. foreign policy, might “startle” officials abroad. These officials are “currently in negotiations,” so the GOP senator apparently believes Americans should be cautious not to interfere.

The irony is simply breathtaking. The mind reels.

Update: In his remarks on the Senate floor, Cotton added, “I fear mutual respect is of little concern to this administration. The president and all those senior officials around him should carefully consider the diplomatic and security consequences of their words.”



I mean, really. Is this intended as some kind of performance-art statement on the power of irony?

http://www.msnbc.com/rachel-maddow-show/cotton-worries-about-us-interference-foreign-negotiations

Unfortunately there seems for some weird reason to be prevailing sentiment against immigrants in Arkansas and those who are on Medicaid or use food stamps. And Senator Cotton is sadly representative of those sentments. Absolutely everyone except the young adults (the demographic group who were lacking medical care before Obama stepped in) are against Obama are and food stamps. ..most of the people of Arkansas are all for veterans receiving whatever they need be it healthcare housing food education etc but God help the little babies born in poverty who havent served in the military yet: their parents simply should not have had them if they couldn't support their children. But wait. ...abortion is not countenaneed either...and planned parenthood is the devil's business. ..so one should be abstinence until one can afford either birth control or unprotected sex...uh huh....Arkansas politics. ...they're beyond my understanding. ..

Tom Cotton would be right at home in the CONservative Party of Canada.

Y'all can keep 'im... I've had a belly full of "Reform".