One-third of Republican "insiders" think Tom Cotton's Iran letter crossed a line

One-third of Republican insiders believe that Arkansas Sen. Tom Cotton and his GOP colleagues — including several potential presidential candidates — crossed the line when they published an open letter to Iranian leaders warning about a possible nuclear deal.

This week’s survey of The POLITICO Caucus — a bipartisan group of key activists, operatives and thought leaders in Iowa and New Hampshire — also finds that Democratic insiders unanimously believe that Cotton & Co. behaved inappropriately…

Influentials in both parties think the rise of the Islamic State has helped knock Paul off message. It’s harder for him to talk about issues where he is more closely aligned with the GOP base.

“If it weren’t for Rand Paul’s positions on foreign policy, he would be the frontrunner in this race,” said an Iowa Republican. “His stances on these issues will prevent him from ever being the Republican nominee.”