In one of the most glaring examples of Republican Party cognitive dissonance, the GOP is positioning itself as the only true American friend of Israel — but at the same time, moving more and more toward the pseudo-libertarian anti-Israel politics of Ron Paul and his son Rand, who strongly advocate eliminating all US aid to the Jewish state.

Today when Benjamin Netanyahu spoke to Congress, Rand Paul made an explicit statement of this position by remaining at his desk.

As Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu received a warm welcome from a joint session of Congress on Tuesday, freshman Sen. Rand Paul (R-Ky.) skipped out on the speech, sitting quietly at his Senate desk shuffling through papers and newspapers.