The Twittersphere exploded with condemnation and defense of freshman Sen. Tom Cotton (R-Ark.) for leading the letter of 47 GOP senators to Iran’s leadership — explaining how Congress works and how that jeopardizes their imminent pact with President Obama. A fair share of the criticism painted Cotton, a combat veteran with tours in Iraq and Afghanistan, as a backwoods yokel who must not even know Middle East geography:
@SenTomCotton @Morning_Joe can you even find Iran on the map?? #youdontbelonginoffice #IranTalks
— Junior Gillani (@Jumpmann311) March 10, 2015
@DVanLierEsq @NaYaKnoMi @HuffPostPol I bet he can’t even point out Iran on a map..
— surfinbird512 (@surfinbird5121) March 10, 2015
@mmrothenberg @LuWho2You @SenTomCotton @JZarif of course he does. GOP doesn’t understand history or geography. Can’t find iran on a map.
— Gizmonic Institute (@caebling) March 9, 2015
@SBengali @LOLGOP If Cotton is representative of majority in his state, he’s unable to identify Iran on a map or know language they speak.
— Joanna (@JoannaCocoGrove) March 10, 2015
Joining that chorus was New York Times columnist Roger Cohen:
Outrageous behavior from Republican senators who can’t find Iran on a map: White House Faults G.O.P. Letter to Iran http://t.co/YZxOcAK6xe
— Roger Cohen (@NYTimesCohen) March 9, 2015
However, the NYT had its own map problems:
My new favorite correction – NYT map said the Islamic State was busy smashing antiquities in Iran… #winning pic.twitter.com/ot3mZcLxMf
— Matt Trevithick (@MattTrevithick) March 9, 2015
That correction came from this story.